Long time Menlo Park resident Lester Weil dies at 95

Lester Weil, a long time resident of Menlo Park, died after a brief illness on December 5 at his home; he was 95.

Lester was born in the Bronx on April 13, 1917 and grew up in Brooklyn. He received a BA in chemistry from Brooklyn College in 1937 and subsequently received his doctorate in chemistry from Columbia University in 1945.  He met his wife Ruth Swid, while at Columbia; they were married in 1944. He worked on the Manhattan Project during the war and was part of the American space program until his retirement in 1970.

Known as ‘Doc’ to many of his friends, for the past 40 years he has divided his time between Menlo Park, raising cows on his ranch outside of Livermore, and fly fishing the Bitterroot River in Montana. Lester was preceded in death by his wife Ruth and his daughter, Nancy. He is survived by his son Arthur, his daughter-in-law Alice, his daughter Beth, his grandson Sam, his granddaughter-in-law Nicole, great grandchild Sierra, his grandson Matthew, his granddaughter-in-law Jennifer, and his grandson Seth.

A private family service has been held.