William “Bill” Weightman III of Stockholm passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. He was 76.
Born to William Weightman Jr. and Christine M. Weightman (nee DeCarlo) in Teaneck, he grew up in Ridgefield. His family owned the Royal Tavern, where he worked as a bartender in his early 20s. He often shared colorful stories of his times working side by side with his brother, Gary.
He lived in Bergen County for many years before moving to the Lake Stockholm section of Hardyston 45 years ago.
Bill first fell in love with Lake Stockholm as a boy when his family purchased a second home and began to spend summers there.
He earned an all but dissertation doctorate from the City University of New York in political economy/criminology and master’s degrees from Fordham University in criminology and New Jersey City University in political science and urban sociology.
He earned a certificate in certified public management from Rutgers University and Cornell University for industrial psychology.
He worked as an industrial psychologist and testing specialist for the New Jersey Department of Labor, where he developed tests for counseling and job placement and conducted national studies on workers and students.
He later ran government offices for jobs and unemployment known as One Stop Career Centers in Sussex, Morris and Warren counties, retiring as a regional supervisor in 2013 after 44 years of service.
He won many distinguished awards for customer service and economic development.
He was also a part-time professor, teaching for more than 14 years at various colleges, including Jersey City State University, Ramapo College and Sussex County Community College.
A dedicated family man, he enjoyed traveling between his homes in North Port, Fla., and Lake Stockholm during his retirement.
After a devastating house fire in 1996 destroyed his boyhood summer home, he and his wife, Hilda, purchased their first home in the bucolic lake community.
Bill loved family time, sporting events, politics, swimming and kayaking at his beloved Lake Stockholm. He also enjoy travel abroad.
An avid fan of rock concerts, he was in attendance at Woodstock 1969 and 1993 and most recently at the Rolling Stones concert in May 2024.
In his youth, he was scouted by the New York Yankees and had dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. His medical issues prevented him from pursuing that dream.
He was an avid Mets fan who proudly appeared in a documentary about the Mets.
Bill was an activist and local political pundit well known in Sussex County and the surrounding area who worked tirelessly on behalf of others. If anyone needed help, he rushed to their aid with his loving wife often at his side.
Through his work at the New Jersey Department of Labor, he often personally placed individuals in jobs. He networked on behalf of others and maintained a steady presence in the New Jersey Herald’s op-ed page always advocating for his various causes.
It was a proud moment when the New York Times published one of his prolific Letters to the Editor.
Bill was actively involved in many organizations and served on seven nonprofit boards, including Norwescap and Head Start, and he maintained memberships in the Foreign Policy Association of New York, Project Self-Sufficiency, Literacy Volunteers of America and Common Cause. He also was a senior quality of life member and an award-winning member of the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce.
Bill was the beloved husband of Hilda Weightman (nee Gerardino) of Stockholm; devoted father of William Weightman IV and his wife Kacey of Stockholm and Cindy Redling and her husband Christopher of Wayne; loving grandfather of Matthew, William Patrick, Kelsey and Catherine; and dear brother of Joanne Weightman-Hans of Bergenfield and Gary G. Weightman of Alford, Fla.
The family will receive their friends at F. John Ramsey Funeral Home, One Main St., Franklin, on Sept. 7 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. A Mass of Christian burial to follow at Immaculate Conception RC Church, Franklin, at noon. Interment will be at Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Hardyston.
Information and condolences may be found at www.fergusonfuneralhomesnj.com