John F. Weinheimer, Jr.

John F. Weinheimer, Jr. of Brookline passed away peacefully at his home on July 22, surrounded by his family, after losing a year-long battle with cancer. He was the beloved husband to the late Eileen (Goodall) Weinheimer for 36 years and the admired and cherished father of David Jr. (Maryann) Wright, Marcy (Kenny) Ochs, Kimmy Gooding, Kurt (Kristie) Gooding, Jeffrey Scholl, Tammy (Bob) Szemanski, John F. (Amy) Weinheimer III and Colleen (Jay) Cuba.

John treasured his family and was incredibly proud of them. He was the adored “Pap Pap” to 22 grandchildren: David, Jessica, & Michael Wright; K. C. & Joshua Ochs; Kassi Kelley & Jamie Gross; Kylee Gooding; Jordan Scholl; Jeffrey, Christina (Harpel) & Jake Bilski; Emma (Belske), John F. IV, Grace, Mary, Mark, Virginia, and Peter Weinheimer; Victoria, Olivia, & Samuel Cuba. In addition, blessed with 11 great-grandchildren and two beloved fur babies, Kira and Abbey. 

He was the son of the late John F. & Gertrude Weinheimer Sr. and brother of Marianne (Steve) Shemo of Cuyahoga Falls, OH. He graduated from Carrick High School in 1965 and was a life-long resident of the South Hills spending the last 27 years in his childhood home in Brookline.

Upon graduation, John spent one year at Point Park College before enlisting in the military in 1966 and proudly serving his country from 1967-68 with the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He was part of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Division based in the dangerous “Arizona Territory” and part of the Weapons Platoon. 

He started his career in 1966 at Edwin L. Wiegand Co., a subsidiary of Emerson Electric, as a General Laborer/Material Handler, working his way up to a Journeyman Millwright.  He joined General Motors Corporation in 1981 as a Journeyman Millwright and retired in 2008 after 28 years of service. He was highly regarded and skilled in his trade. There wasn’t anything that he couldn’t fix, build, or do and was the go-to person in our family for anything needing done. 

In retirement, he found pleasure in working part-time as an usher at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium). However, his true post-career passion and joy was discovered when he rejoined the Vietnam Veterans Inc. (VVI) https://vietnamveteransinc.com, and ultimately served them as Vice President for the past 15 years. Through VVI, John would find incredible, lifelong friendships, healing from the war, camaraderie among his fellow military brothers and sisters, and a sincere joy in supporting and serving others. He will be deeply missed by the organization and his role nearly impossible to fill. In addition, John served as the former Commander for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization, Chapter 76, as well as the DAV representative for the Sharing and Caring, Inc. "Annual Boat Ride" program.

A viewing, which will include casket duty by VVI, will be held at Frank F. DeBor Funeral Home, 1065 Brookline Boulevard, on Tuesday, August 5 from 1 to 3 pm and 5 to 7 pm.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Church of the Resurrection (Saint Teresa of Kolkata Parish), at 10:30 am, on Wednesday, August 6, followed by a burial with full military honors conducted by VVI at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies at 12:30 pm.  

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to VVI.  Make checks payable to Vietnam Veterans Inc., P. O. Box 97765, Pittsburgh, PA  15227.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John F. Weinheimer, Jr., please visit our floral store.