Freckles and Diamonds

5 May 2023 • WALLINGFORD - From Gerry's children:

It is with very profound sadness, and extremely heavy hearts, we inform you that Geraldine Weeks took her last breath on May 2, 2023. She passed in the presence of adoring children after succumbing to a struggle to recover her natural vitality and vibrancy.

On September 4, 1930, Gerry arrived as the second child of Arthur Byron and Nina Pearl Backensto (nee Lichtenwalner) in Troy, NY. She shared her childhood, and early life, with her older brother Arthur (Art) Backensto, Jr.

She attended public schools in Troy, NY and graduated from Russell Sage College, with honors, in 1952.

On June 8, 1952, Gerry married the love of her life Ensign Robert Hart Weeks (Bob). Bob and Gerry soon after began to develop their family; Mark (1952), Rick (1954), Carol (1955), Dean (1958), and David (1960).

While Bob pursued his career in the U.S. Navy submarine service, Gerry focused on applying her acquired secretarial and business administration skills. One of her most memorable, and unique, experiences was in the mid-1960's as the personal secretary and archivist for Admiral Husband Kimmel (U.S. Navy) as he prepared his defense for command failures during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Gerry took great pride in supporting Admiral Kimmel's effort.

As her husband's naval career progressed, Gerry was very often confronted with having to relocate her children, moving the family into their new homes, getting each of the children into new schools, and seeking new career opportunities for herself. Between 1952 and 1976, this effort spanned locations such as: Connecticut (four occasions), Virginia (two occasions), Hawaii, Washington DC, and Stuttgart, Germany.

Among the most memorable locations Gerry resided in were Hawaii from 1962-63, Connecticut 1965-71, and southern Germany 1971-74.

Hawaii was her paradise, but she never relinquished her family obligations and personal pursuits. She, with her family, enjoyed what Hawaii had to offer (including the jellyfish and tsunamis).

In Connecticut, Bob and Gerry engaged a local contractor to build a custom home that ideally suited a large, young family. The family moved into the partially finished home in late 1965, and it served as the family homestead for the next five years. It was a remarkable playground for the children, and a phenomenal location for Bob and Gerry to entertain their frequent guests. Gerry lamented having to part with this homestead.

In 1971, Bob's assignment to support the U.S. Navy's strategic nuclear objectives with NATO relocated the Weeks family to Stuttgart. This location provided tremendous opportunities for the family to travel extensively throughout Europe. The family learned downhill skiing in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; and trips throughout Italy, Spain, Britain, and France. In 1973, the family travelled to Berlin, Germany and experienced the misfortunes of a divided city within a divided nation. Gerry found this profoundly unsettling. As she expressed then, "People need bonds, not walls".

Embedded in many of her family relocations was managing them while Bob was deployed on at sea. The typical Navy submariner's duty cycle was 3 months at sea, then 3 months home-based for training, repeat....

While Bob was deployed, Gerry focused all available attention on her children. This was an extraordinary effort on her part as she also continued pursuing her own career aspirations. During the 60's and 70's these were not unusual circumstances for the wife of a "military family"; ...Go where your husband must go, raise the children, and then address personal aspirations.

Gerry admirably managed all the obligations of being married to a career military officer. When Bob and his crew were deployed, Gerry very capably, in addition to family and career obligations, accepted the added role of being a focal point providing social and emotional support to the wives and families of Bob's shipmates. She was regarded by so many as a "great lady" for her efforts in helping others. This is a sentiment that many have expressed and continue to do so to this day.

Despite her husband's career advancement, with a small dose of her personal mirth, Gerry would periodically remind family and friends that during her time in Stuttgart, Germany, her secretarial position with the U.S. Army afforded her a higher security clearance than that of her husband, who had been the commander of a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.

Upon his retirement from the Navy in 1976, Bob and Gerry purchased what they would affectionately call the family homestead in Wallingford, VT. By this point most of their children were independently pursuing their own callings. This afforded Gerry the opportunity to pursue her calling more ardently. Over the course of the ensuing years, she engaged with a local dental practitioner to help him establish his practice in Wallingford; volunteered at the town's public library; and also assisted local, county, and state political organizations to promote efforts for the benefit of area constituents.

In October 2008, her beloved husband passed, but Gerry steadfastly committed to remain a resident and contributor to the Wallingford community. In this regard, her commitment persisted to her last day.

Gerry is predeceased by both her parents and her brother. Sadly, she is also predeceased by the love of her life... Captain Robert Hart Weeks (U.S. Navy) ...Bob.

Lamenting her passing are her survivors: Mark and wife Martine (Linkebeek, Belgium), Rick and wife Laura (Orleans, MA), Carol and husband Dan Murphy (Pawcatuck, CT), Dean and wife Sherry (Olive Branch, MS), and David and wife Leeanne (Proctor, VT); their children and their grandchildren. At the time of her passing, Gerry had been blessed with five children, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Gerry was a loving, caring wife, an exemplary mother, and an excellent grandmother and great-grandmother. For many, she was so much more than a great lady.

She is already greatly missed.

For all who were a part of her life, thank you for being so.

Memorial services for Gerry will be held at the Wallingford First Congregational Church, 189 South Main St, Wallingford, VT at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, May 9th. Immediately following the memorial service Gerry will be reunited with Bob at the Green Hill Cemetery, 322 South Main St, Wallingford, VT.

In lieu of flowers, her children would appreciate your consideration to make donations, in memory of Geraldine (Gerry) Weeks, to the following organizations: Gilbert Hart Library 14 South Main St, PO Box 69, Wallingford, VT 05773; Wallingford Rescue Squad 99 Maple St, PO Box 246, Wallingford, VT 05773; Wallingford Volunteer Fire Department 17 Railroad St, Wallingford, VT 05773.

Source: Geraldine Weeks

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See also I Lift My Eyes to the Hills (October 2008) and My Favorite Uncle (May 2015).