Bio James W. "Speedy" Weems - Logan County, Oklahoma

Submitted by:  Tammie Chada   tchada@mmcable.com 
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James W. "Speedy" Weems

James "Speedy" Weems, a man who donated his life to community service in
Guthrie, died at age 72 on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1999 at Colonial Estates
Nursing Home as a result of complicaitons from cancer.

Jerry Weems, Weems' son said a stint placed through a tumor in Weems' 
liver about 18 months ago was blocked last week.  Weems was taken to 
Tulsa for surgery to try to unblock the stint, but the surgery was
unsuccessful.

He went downhill in a period of three days, Jerry Weems said.

Jerry Weems said he was forced to take his father to the nursing home
when his condition worsened.

Jerry described his father as a wonderful man.

He was a father to Guthrie.  He was Guthrie, he said.  There is no
doubt in my mind that people like him, and there are few people like
him, make Guthrie.

Weems was a kind man with a gentle smith who was a member of the
Guthrie City Council for 11 years and dedicated much of his life to 
the Masonic Lodge after growing up in the Masonic Children's Home in
Guthrie.

Weems was 13 when he came to the children's home and lived there 
until he was drafted to fight in World War II.  In the war, Weems
was never sent overseas, but spent time in boot camp in San Diego and
at a radio school in Los Angeles before going to serve in Hawaii and
then on an island in the South Pacific.

AFter he was discharged from the war, Weems came back to Guthrie.  He
then attended Oklahoma A & M in Stillwater and majored in electrical
engineering for three years while working part-time at Carey's
Printing Depot, Inc., 210 W. Oklahoma.

It didn't take long for Weems to realize college was not for him and
he decided to work at the print shop full-time instead.  Weems 
continued to work at the print shop until 1972 when the owner sold
it to him.

Weems began his 11 year involvement in city government in 1985 when
he joined the Guthrie City Council.  In 1989 he became mayor of
Guthrie and served for four years.  He then served another term on
the council for two years and after that finished another year term
for a councilwoman that moved out of her ward.

Also during this time, Weems stayed active in the local Masonic
fraternity, acting as DeMolay advisor for about 28 years.

DeMolay is a Masonic-sponsored group based on citizenship and family
for men between the ages fo 13 and 18 years old.

In a recent interview with The Guthrie News Leader, Weems said he
felt his time as a DeMolay officer was his great accomplishment.

The thing about when you are associating yourself with young people
you really don't ever know until a few years later if you've done
any good or not.  You can't really take credit for what they 
accomplish just because you were there.

After he stepped down from his position as a DeMolay officer, 
Weems remained an active ember of the Masonic fraternity until his
death.  In the same interview, Weems explained his commitment
to the Masonic fraternity.

I owe my life to the Masonic fraternity and what they did for me
and my baby brother and baby sister.  I can't imagine where I
would be had it not been for the Masonic fraternity.

There's no substitute for your momma and daddy, but it came about
as close to being a good substitute as we could find, because they
were such nice people.

Until his death, Weems was involved in several other community
service organizations including the Logan County Historical Society
and the Chamber of Commerce.

Weems' son said if his father were here today he would say his life
was blessed for having the opportunity to impact so many people's
lives.