Charles MacNaughton Weller

Charles (Charlie) Weller, 92, died peacefully January 10, 2022 at the University Rehabilitation Center in Urbana, Illinois.  Charlie was born August 29, 1929 in Rochester NY.  He grew up in Wadsworth NY and attended school in Greigsville, NY.  He graduated from college in Geneseo NY in 1948. He taught middle school science in Irondequoit, New York and high school physics in Newton Massachusetts for several years and eventually went to Harvard where he both worked full-time as Assistant Director of an Academic Year Institute for Science Teachers and pursued graduate studies. He completed his Doctorate of Education from Harvard in 1964 and began teaching graduate studies in the College of Education of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  He retired from the University of Illinois in the early 1990s.

Charlie loved teaching and felt strongly that his students should get early experience in the classroom.  He worked tirelessly to provide these experiences in the local schools and worked with many fine teachers.  His approach centered on hands-on work with the students.

Some highlights of Charlie's career:  he worked two summers in the early 70s for the Peace Corps, teaching Kenyan science educators how to teach physics and math.  He also had a sabbatical year in England which allowed him to expand his own knowledge of educational methodologies. He worked, in the late 80s, with the Army Corps of Engineers to develop training materials to foster environmental awareness in troops stationed in Germany.

Throughout all his educational activities, Charlie helped develop a love of teaching in his students.

Charlie has three children from his marriage to Mary L. Weller: Laurie, Gregory, and Bonnie.  He has five grand-children: Katelin, Jesse, Izzy, Connor, and Bethany.  He has two great-granddaughters: Clementine and Zelda. 

He is also survived by his wife Marty, whom he married in 1980.

There are no funeral services planned.  At some point in the future the family hopes to scatter his ashes in the mountains of Colorado, one of his favorite places. 

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