Norman Weyland Loved Vineyard Bluefish Derby

Norman F. Weyland of Seattle, Wash., died at home on March 5. He was 85 years old.

Norm was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., and was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Army Air Corps assigned to B-29s in Amarillo and San Antonio, Tex. He was the recipient of the American theatre service medal and World War II victory medal. After the war he earned a degree in mechanical engineering at Indiana Technical College, Fort Wayne, Ind., and enjoyed a career in design engineering, sales and marketing for Wales Strippit, a division of Houdaille Industries, Inc.

Norm was also a proud veteran of Vineyard summers who particularly loved hanging around local hot spots. He could frequently be found in Menemsha or around Memorial Wharf in Edgartown, where his great-grandchildren, Devin Neale and Carly Paris, first learned to fish. He loved the annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, was a regular participant in his earlier years and a regular observer in the later years at the derby weigh station.

Norm is survived by his proudest legacy, his family. He leaves his wife of 63 years, Mildred W. Weyland, also of Seattle; eight children, including Nancy Weyland Strecker of West Tisbury; five grandchildren, including Bridget Paris of Concord and John Neale of Acton, and four great-grandchildren, Carly and Jasmine Paris of Concord and Devin and Brady Neale of Acton.

On Sunday, June 12, a mass in his memory will be held at 11 a.m. at St. Elizabeth's Roman Catholic Church in Edgartown. A celebration of his life will follow in the afternoon for his immediate family, led by the Rev. Judith Campbell. In lieu of flowers the family suggests a donation be made to the Alzheimer's Association or to the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.