Many people attended the celebration of life at Redeemer United Methodist Church, Jan. 9, for Violet “Vi” Weaver, founder and director of the Kingston Food Bank.
Various people spoke of Vi and her many contributions to the community, but I wanted a larger audience of readers to know more about this amazing lady. By now everyone should be aware that the community has lost a remarkable woman, and my dear friend of almost 50 years.
The Weavers moved here a few years after we did and we met because our kids rode the school bus together. Ray Weaver was a barber and one of the shakers and movers in getting things going in Kingston, with Vi right beside him. The two had a hand in just about every community event.
They also started the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Women’s Auxiliary. The Weavers lived down the line from us on Hansville Road, near a curve we called “Weaver’s Pass,” and we still do. Ray was a North Kitsap school bus driver for many years, and his daughter, Barb Fulton, retired from the same position a while back.
We didn’t have a telephone in those days as it was too expensive to have poles set in our two-city-block long driveway, so most of our news came off the school bus. The kids seemed to know everything about everyone, and I became known as Barb and her brother Buddy’s second mother.
I loved Vi right off. She was outspoken, to the point, and could laugh at herself. I found this little gal to be one you never said “But Vi, you can’t do that!” to. She believed in the old fashioned motto, “Where there’s a will there’s a way,” and that was the way she dealt with life.
She was small in stature but strong in thought, word and deed. Once when she decided she needed a car and was miffed at getting no response from Ray, she said, “Okay I’ll do it myself.” She found house cleaning jobs to make the payments. Ray told me he wasn’t surprised. Once she got it in her head there was no changing her mind.
When Ray passed on, Vi kept the food bank going with a passion, never knowing from week to week if there would be enough food to help the families in need. There were no government grants, or handouts from them.
The community was asked for its support by what ever means it had. I know Vi was especially proud of the Boy Scouts who helped with food drives, the little preschool children who brought food in wagons one day and the hundreds of other donations from churches, schools, organizations, and the ordinary citizens.
Almost 16 years ago, when Redeemer United Methodist Church started in Wolfle School auditorium, it undertook helping the Kingston Food Bank as its first mission. Twelve years ago Vi asked my help in getting news into this column about the needs of the community, because she knew of my work under the Office of Economic Opportunity, an anti-poverty program. This was something I was more than happy to do.
In remembering this remarkable friend, my prayer is for the community to do something to honor Vi Weaver’s memory and show its appreciation for her years of working to feed the needy, making sure each child had a decent Christmas, clothes and every thing she did to try and make life better for people and families who were having hard times.
Yes, I know, many of us do what we can in our way, but Vi Weaver gave so much of herself to her mission in life, besides what she gave to her family. To have her name honored, in public, would be a wonderful tribute to a woman whose memory truly deserves it.
Anyone with an idea?
Jacque Thornton can be reached at jacquethorn@yahoo.com
