- Date Of Birth: February 18, 1948
- Date Of Death: November 10, 2015
- State: New Jersey
Peter Weeks was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1948. When he was twelve years old, his family moved to Huntington Bay, New York, where the family lived until 1987. His father’s family is a descendant of Elder Brewster who arrived on the Mayflower and his mother’s family came to America in the early 1700s.
Peter was a true Renaissance Man — an amazing artist, an inspired intellect, a talented sailor, and a strong and principled athlete. Most importantly, he was a kind and loving man, who willingly helped many people with a myriad of problems. One of his greatest joys in life was being the town Santa for Lavallette and for the North Ward Civic Center. He was planning on starting a Santa workshop to teach children woodworking and other skills. Upon arriving in Huntington Bay, Peter became an avid sailor and competed in the Marblehead to Halifax and other racing events. He was a talented and ethical athlete and lifeguard, affectionately nicknamed “Adonis” by his friends for his beauty, strength, and endurance. Peter attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts and graduated from Huntington High School in 1966, where he was the captain of the football team and senior class president. He attended Rutgers College of Engineering and was the first pick pledge for Chi Psi Fraternity, where he insisted on community service instead of hazing. He played rugby at Rutgers. His broad and artistic mind resulted in changes in his majors to include landscape architecture and environmental science. In college, he worked for a transatlantic yacht delivery service. On one trip, he helped to save the yacht from sinking and braved a storm to go ashore alone and find help on a desolate and mountainous part of an island. While living in New Brunswick, he was actively involved in neighborhood preservation.
After college, Peter attended and taught at the Huntington School of Fine Arts. His artistic skills include oil painting, sculpture, photography, and woodworking. Peter learned to woodwork at five years old and liked “to eat a little sawdust every day.” He built his oceanfront house in Lavallette, incorporating historic woodwork and pure strength to readily survive Superstorm Sandy. Peter was the project manager for the adaptive reuse of historic buildings at the South Street Seaport and had a broad range of construction management and experience. With his broad-ranging knowledge, he was an invaluable assistant in his wife’s land use law practice and in managing their properties. In his last employment, he worked for Ocean Beach III in assisting residents to rebuild after the storm and for Rutgers University in educating people about economic victimization after the storm.
He is survived by his wife, Michele R. Donato, his daughter, Jennie Weeks, his loyal dogs Zuzu and Dana, his sister Nancy Payne, his sisters-in-law Pam Weeks and Margaret Donato, and loving nieces and nephews. His father Ray Weeks, his mother, Barbara Weeks, and his brother Paul predeceased him. Peter was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy, which he endured with optimism and bravery. He died in his sleep, peacefully and unexpectedly. He is being cremated and placed into a barrier reef.
