<VV> Burnie Weedle 1/24/1919 to 1/11/2005

[Louis C. Armer, Jr.]

Yesterday we in the Corvair hobby lost a true enthusiast. Burnie Weedle was 
one of
the founders of Corvair Atlanta. He was a lifelong CORSA member, a Honorary 
Lifetime
member of Corvair Atlanta and friend to all he met.
       Burnie was instrumental in the first CORSA International Convention 
held in Atlanta
in 1980 and also contributed heavily in the 1992 Atlanta Convention. He 
served as an
Eastern Director of CORSA and was also prominent in the decision that 
brought our
annual Corvair Atlanta Springfest to the beautiful North Georgia village of 
Helen.
       Jack Allison, longtime Corvair Atlanta member and club historian had 
this to say in a
article published in our Newsletter (The Connecting Rod) in the fall of 2002
when I was Corvair Atlanta president:

>Burnie Weddle
>
>Corvair Atlanta members come and go, but there's one member out there who 
>not only came along for the ride (no pun intended), but he came along to stay.
>
>Burnie was one of CA's founders back in 1976, and succeeded Pat Groover as 
>President in 1977.  This is the first of 6 times he would step forward and 
>wield the gavel as President of Corvair Atlanta.
>
>This writer's first association with Burnie was in 1979.  Here is a man, I 
>thought, who is a devoted Corvair guy, a great one for show participation 
>and an interesting story teller.
>
>One story I vividly recall reverted back to the days of WW II.  Burnie was 
>a Lieutenant at the time of Germany's surrender and was asked to convey 
>important documents to the Nuremberg Trials, some pertaining to Hitler and 
>those of Herman Goring, Hitler's right hand henchman.  Goring was at the 
>trial site and Burnie starred eyeball to eyeball with the infamous 
>leader.  Burnie said: "I was hardly impressed with the guy, an overstuffed 
>kraut manipulated by a weirdo."  But, it was a moment of history not many 
>people were privy to.
>
>After the war, Burnie worked as a Field Engineer with the Allison Division 
>of GM, and later as General Manager with a fiberglass company named HITCO 
>(which sounded more like a front for the Mafia, or so I told him.)  But, 
>let's get back to Burnie and Corvairs.
>
>The 1980 National Convention was bid for and accepted by CA even tho' the 
>Treasury only showed $379.65 in April of that year.  If you're guessing 
>some personal loans were made, you are correct.  Just another sacrifice 
>for a dyed-in-the-wool Corvair nut.  In addition, as I recall, Burnie and 
>the McBride's were instrumental in getting Lockheed to roll out a Hercules 
>C-130 for some publicity shots & not a bad feat.
>
>In 1982, one of my years as Editor, Burnie phoned me wondering if I had 
>any brainstorms on some place to have a Corvair show that the ladies would 
>enjoy as well.  Having been to Helen, GA with Maxine early on and 
>recalling how much she enjoyed the novelty of the mountain town and shops, 
>I blurted out in jest (more than anything else), "How about Helen, 
>Georgia?"  There was prolonged silence.  I thought Burnie had dozed off, 
>then I heard him say, "That might work!"  Thus was born a 21 year 
>tradition.  Here was a man with a vision,  a guy whose hobby and Corvair 
>Atlanta was a great part of his life.

       We will all miss Burnie, his stories, his pranks with the fake oil 
slick and above all his great outlook on life in general.
Burnie will be buried in Arlington Memorial Cemetery in Sandy Springs, 
Georgia at 2 pm this Saturday. The family has
requested no flowers and if you wish, to make a contribution to the 
Alzheimers Charity in his memory.

Sincerely,
Chuck Armer

Corvair Atlanta, BOD
CORSA MEMBER
CORSA Tri-Membership Chairman
http://carmerjr.home.mindspring.com/