BOONE, Iowa—“Well, that was something,” she said out of the blue on Tuesday. A phrase she was fond of saying for nearly any event from the grand to the not-so-grand. Two days later, on February 13, 2025, Harriet I. Weeg died at Eastern Star Masonic Home in Boone, Iowa. And, trust us, her life was something.
Born on March 28, 1927, in Williams, Iowa, our mom looks back at us from pictures with a big smile, round cheeks and a short bob haircut. Mom was raised on a farm outside of Stratford, Iowa, with siblings Clem Smith (1921-1993) and Sister Marla (Virginia) Smith (OSF) (1922-2021). Water drawn from an outside pump, an outhouse seemingly miles from the side door, and a corncob furnace were the amenities in her life growing up. Her dad, William V. Smith, was a farmer, a trapper/hunter and a rumored card player. Her mom, Mae A. (Forey) Smith was a tough, independent teacher who traveled on a steamship to Europe before settling into farm life.
Our mom followed Sister Marla to AIB in Des Moines and then to Indianapolis, Indiana, where they lived together in a boarding house and worked as secretaries. Eventually, she returned to Iowa and college at Marycrest in Davenport. There she met our dad, Gerard Weeg. He was an ambitious mathematician chasing a brand-new field much later called computer science. Our mom had his number and they were married when he was still a senior at St. Ambrose in Davenport and she was a junior. Children started arriving as the young couple chased our dad’s career around the country before finally landing in Iowa City, Iowa. He was a “big shot” for sure — favorite words used by my mom to describe others who were “all that.” He was all that. As was she.
She ran a household of eight kids, hosted the necessary social activities for our dad, and cooked and gardened and “warshed” until bedtime. She always had a soft spot for the underdog and cared for those who needed a hand throughout her entire life. While chairman of the Department of Computer Science, in Iowa City, our dad became ill with a brain tumor. He died three years later, in 1977. She cared for him at home the entire time while half her kids were still in grade school and high school. A hard time. But as she would say, she “got that over with,” which described anything from the most fun event ever to burying your husband before he was 50. “Got that over with” for sure. Her eight kids were beautiful, smart, and successful — in her mind.
In Boone, our mom and family friend Jay Judge cared for our oldest sister Judy until her death in 2023. Jay then helped care for our slowly failing mom. He gets all the medals. Surviving mom is all the rest of us — Carol, who lost her husband Roy Williams in 2019, and her partner Yvon Varunok; Joe and his wife Theresa; Marla and her husband Dave Thoele; John and his wife Teri Keifer; Joyce and her wife Jennifer Richtberg; Jim and his wife Trish; Cathy and her wife Kate Wattum. Don’t get us wrong, our mom cared for us, her kids, but the loves of her life were her grandkids and great grandkids. No surprise.
A visitation and rosary will be held on Friday, February 21, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with Rosary service at 6:45 p.m. at Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home, 609 7th St, Boone. The Funeral Mass will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 915 12th St, Boone. Burial will be at 3:30 p.m. at Saint Joseph Cemetery in Iowa City.
For those unable to attend, a live-stream of the service will be available on the Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home Facebook Page and can be accessed at: https://www.facebook.com/SchroederStarkWelin the live-stream will start roughly five minutes before the start of the service (9:55 a.m. on Saturday, February 22, 2025).
Memorials in Harriet’s memory can be directed to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boone.
The Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home 609 7th Street, Boone, has assisted the family with these arrangements.
Harriet Weeg, 97, Boone, Iowa and the Eastern Star Masonic Home, Boone, Iowa
