G.Monty Weathers

G. Monty Weathers, beloved husband, father and devoted teacher, died Nov. 18, at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak. He was 66.
Monty was born at his grandparents' home in Detroit, the first of eight children of Bernard and Eleanor Weathers. He leaves behind his companion in marriage and in friendship for nearly 50 years, Jo Powers; his daughter, Sarah Weathers; mother Eleanor; seven siblings, Alan Weathers, Barb (Dan) Mezzapelle; Greg Weathers; Cynthia (Victor) Bitel; Clifford (Glynis Sweeny) Weathers; Rochelle (Chris) Rosenbaum; and Diane (Curt) Marshall; also many nieces and nephews.
Monty was a longtime, devoted German teacher at George A. Dondero High School, Royal Oak.
He grew up in Royal Oak and Warren, where he was a standout student at C.S. Mott High School. It was there that his lifelong interests became clear. He was president of the Spanish Club, German Club, and the Gadflys, an intellectual discussion group.
He went on to Michigan State where, in addition to his studies, he became a Big Brother to three East Lansing boys through Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. His young mentors kept in touch with Monty over the years and visited him as recently as last fall.
When Jo, Monty's high-school friend and college sweetheart, studied abroad in Freiburg, Germany, his own interest in travel and living abroad took hold.
The couple later lived near Frankfort, where he taught at the Frankfort International School and where their daughter was born.
Back in Michigan, Monty earned two master's degrees from Oakland University and the University of Detroit.
Although he first taught elementary-age children, his abiding interest and natural ability in language led him to secondary language instruction. In addition to German, he had a fluent and passing knowledge of Spanish, French, Polish and Russian. If you wanted to know how to say a word in a foreign language, you asked Uncle Monty, one nephew recalled.
And if you wanted to hear a certain song at a family party, he was also your man. At holiday dinner parties, after dessert, there was the inevitable cajoling him to sit at the piano or unpack his accordion and play songs by ear - on command. Among the last songs he played at a gathering was a piece he composed for his mother, titled The Eleanorika Waltz.
There are other family stories. He played a mean game of Risk. And he loved a good burger with fries, his Busia's (grandmother's) golumpki (Golabki) and his mother's cream puffs with hot fudge. His fondness for rich foods and generous portions of all good things in life led his wife to nickname him Mr. Lavish.
He also read and watched world affairs and political events with the same zeal as fans of fantasy football. For years, he subscribed to German publications Der Spiegel and the former Detroiter Abend-Post and consumed a steady diet of TV political interviews and analyses.
In 2003, a diagnosis of mitochondrial disease and myotonic dystrophy (adult-onset muscular dystrophy) forced his early and reluctant retirement from teaching.
"Over the years, he taught me how to handle adversity with dignity and strength," Monty's childhood friend Don Unsworth said. "I will never forget and will be eternally grateful."
The big brother who was interested in the wide world lived a life that became necessarily smaller. But in the same way he established a broad network of friends and colleagues, he became friends with his medical team and he continued to attend social gatherings in the German stammtisch tradition.
His students called him Herr Weathers and, as they would say to him at the end of class: auf wiedersehen.

Visitation Tuesday Nov. 21st from 2pm to 9pm. Funeral service Wednesday, Nov. 22nd, 10am at the David J. Wysocki Funeral Home, 29440 Ryan Rd (1 Blk N. of 12 Mile Rd, Warren).

Memorial contributions may to the Mitochrondrial Foundation, https://www.umdf.org/; or Big Brothers big Sisters of America, http://www.bbbs.org/