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| Arthur Weston | |
| February 13, 1914 - June 26, 2010 | |
| of Lake Forest, IL | |
| Funeral Service: 10:30 a.m. July 03, 2010 at Grace United Methodist Church 224 East Center Avenue Lake Bluff, IL 60044 | |
| Interment: July 03, 2010 at Lake Forest Cemetery | |
| Respected and admired Abbott chemist, inventor and family patriarch
Dr. Arthur Walter Weston, of Lake Forest Illinois, passed away after a short illness on June 26th in Lake Forest, with his wife and family at his side. He was 96 years old.
Dr. Weston, a notable chemist, scientific and business executive, was born February 13, 1914 in Smiths Falls Ontario, Canada. Dr. Weston began his outstanding academic career as he progressed from the local collegiate institute to Queens’ University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (B.A. and M.A.). He then and moved on to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he obtained his PhD in organic chemistry in 1938. He was on the faculty at Northwestern until 1940 when he joined Abbott Laboratories as a senior research chemist. That year, he met and married a beautiful young undergraduate student, Dawn Thompson, who remained his loving companion and the love of his life for 70 years. They traveled extensively and had an exciting and spiritual life together. In 1952, Arthur became a US citizen. He is survived by his wife Dawn, their three children, Roger Lance (and Pam, Winnetka), Randall Kent (Lake Forest) and Cynthia Brooke (and Harvey, Montreal), their nine grandchildren (Page, Kent, Arthur, Noah, Rebecca, Alice, Elliot, Evan, and Spencer) and seven great grandchildren (Katie, Elias, Emery, Roger, Jackson, Piper and Henry) who were the joy of his life.
Dr. Weston had an accomplished academic and scientific career marked by extensive achievements. He was the recipient of 16 scholastic awards including the University Fellowship at Northwestern, and member of honorary societies including Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and Phi Lambda Upsilon. Over the years he was awarded 28 U.S. patents and 175 foreign patents for chemical compounds. He was inventor or co-inventor of 5 pharmaceuticals which were marketed worldwide. He also authored or co-authored 35 scientific publications. During WWII , as a member of the Manpower Commission and Committee of Medical Research, he contributed to the international effort on the development of penicillin and other important drugs.
He served as an Abbott Vice President in various scientific capacities for 20 years and was a member of the Abbott Board of Directors. He traveled extensively worldwide in pursuit of new scientific developments. During this time he served as Vice President of the Board of Directors of San Abbott in Japan. After 39 years in research, development, and worldwide licensing, he retired from Abbott Laboratories in 1979 and was thereafter recognized as an Abbott icon. After retirement, he remained as a consultant at the head office in North Chicago Illinois for several years during which time he established Arthur W. Weston and Associates in Lake Forest Illinois. For these contributions, his biography appears in Who’s Who in the World and in the United States.
Dr. Weston was active in industrial affairs: President of Research Directors of Chicago; Director and Trustee of the Chicago section of the American Chemical Society; Director of the Industrial Research Institute in Washington DC; Executive committee, Chemistry and Technology, National Research Council; Industrial panel National Science Foundation, Washington DC; Member of the Commission on Chemical agents, Dept of Defense, Washington, DC;
In community affairs he was a member on school and hospital boards, including the Board of Directors of Lake Forest Hospital and Northwestern Alumni Council. For many years he and his family have been active members of the Grace United Methodist Church of Lake Bluff where Arthur served as a trustee. He was a generous contributor to many charities and recently created the Arthur and Dawn Weston Fellowship in University Teaching and Learning at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Arthur loved his family intensely and they adored him in return. He had a profound relationship with his children, grandchildren and extended family for whom he was a tireless mentor, confidant and friend.
A funeral service will be held at 10:30 am Saturday July 3 at Grace United Methodist Church, 224 East Center Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois. Interment Lake Forest Cemetery A Party for Artie will follow the services at the Deerpath Inn in Lake Forest. Info: Wenban Funeral Home, Lake Forest (847) 234-0022 or www.wenbanfh.com.
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