Dr. Galen Weaver passed away peacefully on January 12th at his home in Denver, at the age of 91. Galen was a psychiatrist who practiced in Denver from 1969 until 2014.
Galen was the second of three children of Grant and Lutie (Sargent) Weaver, born in Johnstown, PA, in 1931. He grew up in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and graduated from Wabash College in Indiana in 1956. During college he served with the Brethren Service Commission for 3 years in Germany and Austria, working with refugees and performing other duties, and while in Germany, he met his future wife, Carolyn Ikenberry of Bridgewater, VA.
After two years of post-graduate studies at Yale, where Galen received a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, he and Carolyn were married in 1958 and traveled to Syria, where they taught at an American school in Aleppo for two years. Upon their return to the U.S., Galen enrolled in medical school at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, OH, where his sons Michael and Christopher were born.
In 1965 the family moved to Denver, and Galen completed his residency in psychiatry before starting his professional life in 1969. In the meantime, their third son, Thomas, was born, and Galen and Carolyn raised their family in East Denver, with all three boys attending Graland Country Day School and Manual High School.
Galen served as the director of the Denver Mental Health Center for roughly 20 years until its closure, at which point he established a private practice that he would maintain until his retirement at age 82. He also worked for a number of years at the Gates Clinic.
Galen was a kind and gentle man, and a generous and loving father and grandfather. He was an avid sports fan, golfer, tennis player, and environmentalist, and an inveterate optimist who always saw the best in people. He volunteered with Second Chances Denver, and was a longtime member of First Plymouth Congregational Church.
Galen was predeceased by his brother Marlin, sister Mayno, and his son Christopher. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Carolyn; his son Michael (Monica Woelfel); his son Thomas (Lucy Roberts); his daughter-in-law, Rhett Hudson; and four grandsons, Aidan, Henry, George, and Noah.
There will be a sharing of memories and celebration of Galen’s life at 3:00 pm on March 4, 2023, at First Plymouth Congregational Church, 3501 S. Colorado Blvd.
Contributions in Galen’s memory may be made to Second Chance Center Colorado, https://www.scccolorado.org.
Galen, you will be missed dearly. As one of the next generation of our tight knit group of family friends (Weavers, Grahams, Hambidges, Walravens and more), I have so many fond memories of your caring and steady presence over so many years. You were also a close friend of my father’s, and I will always remember the long phone call the two of you had in early December (I was visiting my parents’ house at the time) before both of you started declining rapidly. I sensed at the time that it was a goodbye call to an old friend. Thank you for all you did to leave the world a better place.
Galen was a kind soul who I will dearly miss.
i
You will be missed.
Dr Weaver was one of the nicest kindest Medical Doctors I have ever been treated by. I just found out today he had passed over. I’m in tears. He did have a very full life. The world is poorer without him. I’m glad he was at home at the end. Tender condolences to his family.
Dr. Weaver helped me cope with anxiety and depression. Through therapy, I understood just how remarkable a person he was. Dr. Weaver cared deeply about humanity and saw the good in everyone. I am a better person for knowing him, and I am so grateful for all the years of support!
Carolyn M.
Dear Carolyn, This is a belated but I hope still deliverable expression of condolences–and an attempt at reconnection–two years too late for a timely sympathy note.
You knew Roy and me as little neighbors and later, as students at BC after you graduated. I still have photos of you in Mayday finery.
I want to send you a few of my dad’s old slides (remember that medium?) that he took of you and Galen in 1958. I still cherish the memory of your remarkable parents, and especially your mom, who was my liked and respected chemistry teacher at TA. I did well in that class, but science was on the outer limits of my interests at the time. Now I”m all about science, and especially conservation.
I think we met just once after you moved west, when my parents were visiting us– maybe in 1994?
Call (or even text!) if you like. I’m at 8417 Stirrup Ln Longmont 80503, or 720 668 5214m.
My best wishes to you and your family for the holidays–
Linda Andes-Georges