GORHAM – Family and friends will gather Tuesday to celebrate the life of Linwood Weeman Sr., a retired truck driver for W.L. Blake Co. in Portland and a devoted member of the Portland Eagles Club, who died suddenly on Dec. 22. He was 82.
Mr. Weeman, known by many people as “Linney,” spent more than 40 years driving throughout Maine for Charles S. Chase Co. in South Portland and W.L. Blake Co. in Portland. He worked for each company for just over 20 years.
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His daughter Martha Leland of Gorham said Thursday that he criss-crossed the state and drove throughout New England during his trucking career. She said her father enjoyed stopping at diners along his routes to talk with the locals.
“He loved meeting new people,” said Leland, the second-oldest of his five children. “He was a worker. You couldn’t get him lost.”
Mr. Weeman grew up in Hiram and skipped high school to work on his father’s and grandfather’s farms in Standish and Hiram. He was married for 62 years.
Mr. Weeman was remembered by his family on Thursday as a caring and compassionate man, and a social butterfly who made the rounds to places like Dunkin’ Donuts and Burger King in Portland nearly every morning.
Leland said he met his friends to talk and tell stories. She said he was also a good listener, who never judged people.
Leland said her father was known for helping people in need. She said he recently gave money to a homeless man at Burger King, so he could stay at various 24-hour restaurants to keep warm.
“My father reached for his wallet and took out some money,” Leland said. “He said it was going to be a cold night. It touched me to see him do that. He stuck up for the underdog.”
Mr. Weeman was a dedicated member of the Portland Eagles Club for nearly 30 years. He was also a member of the Loyal Order of Moose in Portland.
Mr. Weeman was diagnosed with cancer in November and sought a second opinion.
Leland said that on Dec. 13 her father met with doctors, who confirmed the original diagnosis. She said he was supposed to start treatment in January.
A week before Christmas, he suddenly didn’t feel well and told his daughter to call an ambulance.
Mr. Weeman had pneumonia. The infection got into his bloodstream and shut down his kidneys and liver.
Just before he was placed on life support, the doctors told Leland that he would likely not recover. They gave her five minutes to talk with him for the last time.
“All I could do was keep saying, ‘I love you dad,’ ‘I love you dad,’” Leland recalled. “I had a feeling of shock and numbness that I’ve never experienced in my life. I still can’t accept it. … For someone so healthy to be walking around, then bingo … they are gone. It’s such a shock. I thought he would live forever.”
Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at:
mcreamer@pressherald.com
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