[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 19 (Thursday, February 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E281-E282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JOANNE MATEER WEAVER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JON D. FOX

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 1997

  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
an outstanding leader in my congressional district, Joanne Mateer 
Weaver. I make these remarks in conjunction with the retirement of 
Joanne from the Abington Township School District, after 40 years as a 
teacher, administrator, and principal.
  Joanne Weaver is known throughout Montgomery County and across the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for her dedication to her friends and 
family, her commitment to the improvement of her community and the way 
she cares for the children in her charge.
  She was born on May 21, 1930, the first child of Kenneth Hall Mateer 
and Jean Weakley Mateer. Joanne's family was full of teachers and 
educators. Her grandmother on her mother's side was a teacher. Her 
uncle was a teacher, coach, and principal. And as a child, Joanne spent 
1 full year in school with her mother as her teacher and her father as 
her principal.
  Despite a childhood plagued by extremely poor vision, Joanne worked 
hard in school. As a result, she was consistently a top ranked student, 
while also active in varsity sports and school clubs.
  Joanne's greatest influence throughout her life was her parents, and 
in particular, her father, the late Kenneth Hall Mateer. Born to a 
family of working poor steelworkers, Ken Mateer's ability to achieve in 
both sports and academics brought him statewide acclaim. At the high 
school in Coatesville, PA, he earned as many as five varsity sports 
letters each year, and captained the baseball, football, and basketball 
teams. In one basketball game, Mateer scored 54 points--a feat unheard 
of at that time. Mateer was also an outstanding scholar. He went on to 
earn a bachelor's degree from Shippensburg State Teachers College--Now 
Shippensburg University--and a master's degree from the University of 
Pennsylvania.
  Ken Mateer went on to become a teacher and a high school coach. When 
Joanne was a child, Mateer's football teams won national recognition. 
But his heart was that of an educator. He rose to become a career 
principal, and later, a school superintendent. At the peak of his 
career, he planned and founded what is now the Great Valley School 
District in the western suburbs of Philadelphia.

  Joanne's mother, the late Jean Weakley Mateer, was also a central 
figure in Joanne's life. Jean Mateer was a wife, mother, and a teacher 
when few women were able to balance a career and a family. Although a 
quiet counterpoint to the more outgoing Ken Mateer, Jean was a strong 
and supportive parent to Joanne. Joanne's only sibling was a younger 
sister, Sarah Jane Mateer, known to the family as Sally.
  Joanne Weaver earned a Pennsylvania State senate scholarship to the 
University of Pennsylvania--an education which her family could not 
afford on its own. At Penn, Joanne studied hard and earned superior 
grades--all while working part time to defray her expenses. She also 
was active in her sorority and other extracurricular activities. At one 
point, Joanne was coeditor of the University of Pennsylvania yearbook, 
along with a young man who is now the senior U.S. Senator from 
Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter.
  After graduating with a bachelor's degree in education, Joanne began 
her teaching career in Ridgewood, NJ, a suburb of New York City. In 
1955, she married Robert E. Weaver. During their marriage, Joanne and 
Robert had three children: Karen Elizabeth, May 25, 1958; Mark Robert, 
January 9, 1961; and Laurie Ann, May 2, 1964.
  In the late 1950's, Joanne and her family settled in the Roslyn 
section of Abington Township, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. She 
began teaching at the Ardsley Elementary School. By that time, she had 
earned a master's degree in reading from Temple University and was 
teaching mostly reading.
  Joanne's leadership skills were quickly noticed and she gained 
administrative responsibilities early in her career. In the late 
1960's, Joanne was promoted to curriculum specialist, this time at 
North Hills Elementary School. She served in this position until the 
mid-1970's, when she was elevated to a districtwide position, as 
coordinator of the district's Human Development Program--an ombudsman-
type position which was used to educate staff, teachers, and students 
about conflict resolution, interpersonal communications, and other 
related issues.
  Around that time, Joanne suffered two personal tragedies. Her 
marriage to Robert ended in divorce and her sister Sally committed 
suicide. These two events truly tested Joanne's character. But like so 
many other times in her life, she summoned the inner strength to carry 
on. Her resilience was a positive example to her three young children--
as well as the two daughters Sally left behind. In nearly every way, 
Joanne became a surrogate mother to her two nieces and took it upon 
herself to watch out for them as they matured.
  Following these difficulties in her personal life, Joanne faced 
significant challenges in her professional life, as coordinator of 
Abington School District's Human Development Program. This post--which 
Joanne helped create and was the first to hold--came into great 
importance in the 1970's. Abington High School experienced racial 
strife due to two unrelated deaths of Abington High School students. 
The district's high school campus was in an uproar and racial conflict 
was feared. As coordinator of the Human Development Program, Joanne led 
the district's response, including conducting inservice and assembly 
programs aimed at quelling the rumors and unrest. Her efforts were 
successful, and a crisis was averted. She was credited by many for 
helping to solve the problem.
  It was shortly after this incident that Abington Township officials 
approached Joanne about starting a township commission to deal with 
potential race, religious, and ethnic strife in Abington. As a result, 
Joanne was appointed by the board of commissioners as the first--and to 
this date the only--chairman of the Abington Township Community 
Relations Commission, a position she still holds today.
  One of the first crises Joanne dealt with in her new position was a 
racially motivated firebombing in the community. Acting as a mediator 
and working with law enforcement officials, Joanne helped calm the 
community while the offenders were brought to justice.

[[Page E282]]

  Since that incident, Joanne and her commission have intervened, 
investigators, and mediated in dozens of racial, religious, and ethnic 
incidents, Joanne has been recognized for her leadership and 
achievements in this area by local judges, community groups, Abington 
Township, and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  During her tenure as a administrator, Joanne found the time to teach 
graduate school under the auspices of Marywood College. During weekends 
and evenings, Joanne taught other educators the skills she honed 
throughout her career. Somehow, Joanne also found the time to enroll in 
further graduate education herself--this time to earn her elementary 
and secondary principal's certificate.
  By 1980, Joanne had finally taken the same path as her father, she 
became an elementary school principal, when she was appointed to lead 
the Rydal Elementary School.
  Located in a more upscale section of Abington, Rydal Elementary 
School presented Joanne with unique challenges. Parents demanded 
excellence in every aspect of the school and Joanne didn't disappoint. 
After 8 years as principal at Rydal Elementary School, Joanne sought a 
new challenge. At her own request, she was transferred to Willow Hill 
Elementary School, located in a working class section of Abington. 
Joanne knew that this assignment would present completely different 
challenges. Joanne found that Willow Hill students were every bit as 
able as those from Rydal, but needed different motivation. She worked 
hard and helped students at her new school score record high test 
scores, and she improved the overall learning environment.
  Last year, after 8 years at Willow Hill and 40 years as an educator, 
Joanne Weaver retired. Her career spanned four decades and she 
personally educated three different generations--in many cases Joanne 
taught children who grew up, got married, and had children who were 
also educated by Joanne.
  While concentrating on education, athletics, and citizenship as her 
father did, Joanne taught her own children to do the same. Despite her 
busy professional schedule, Joanne was a warm, loving, and involved 
parent. Divorced in 1971, she made her role as a single parent her top 
priority. And her dedication shows in the lives and successes of her 
three children.
  Her eldest, Karen, was an outstanding athlete at Abington High 
School, playing lacrosse and field hockey. She was an all-American 
field hockey player and a member of the 1980 national squad. She went 
on to earn bachelor's and master's degrees in physical education. Karen 
was also one of the first women in the United States to win an athletic 
scholarship.
  In 1986, the college field hockey team Karen coached went undefeated 
and won the national championship. That same year, USA Today named her 
``Coach of the Year.'' For the next 10 years, Karen as was head field 
hockey coach at the Ohio State University. She is currently an NCAA 
scholarship consultant, helping high school players and coaches learn 
more about the college athletic scholarship process.
  Joanne's middle child--and only son--is Mark. At Abington High School 
Mark played lacrosse and soccer. He went on to earn bachelor's and 
master's degrees in public administration from Kutztown University in 
Pennsylvania. For 4 years, Mark served as a communications director 
with the Republican Caucus of the Pennsylvania House of 
Representatives. At night, he studied law at the Widener University 
School of Law, graduating and becoming a member of the bar in 1989. He 
received a White House appointment as Assistant Director of Public 
Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice. After that, he became vice 
president and general counsel for a Washington, DC media consulting 
firm.
  In 1995, Mark was appointed as the deputy attorney general of Ohio, a 
position he still holds today. In that job, he helps the attorney 
general manage a 1,200 person legal office which represents the State 
of Ohio in all legal matters. Mark and his wife Lori have two 
children--Joanne's only grandchildren--Jamieson Lindsay Weaver, January 
27, 1995, and Mark Robert Weaver, Jr., June 18, 1996.
  Joanne's youngest child is Laurie. Another athlete, Laurie played 
softball throughout her time at Abington High School. She continues to 
play softball in the Abington area, often leading her team into the 
championships. For several years, Laurie served as operations director 
for a successful parking company. In this role, she helped the company 
grow from a basement operation to one with 75 employees and a $500,000 
annual budget. She now manages a doctor's office while pursuing a full-
time career as a real estate agent.
  Joanne Weaver's life has been one dedicated to helping others, with 
little thought for herself. As a child, she spent summers living with 
and helping older relatives while many of her friends went to summer 
camp or the seashore. As a college student, she was a tireless student 
leader and sorority organizer. As a teacher, she spent long hours after 
school tutoring students who needed extra attention.
  In her community, Joanne has been involved in far too many activities 
to chronicle. To name just a few: Antidrug programs--DARE and We Can 
Say No; adult education programs--Parent effectiveness training, 
teacher effectiveness training; African-American civic groups; police 
and community groups, and many others. Joanne has also been active in 
her church, Abington Presbyterian Church. For several years, she served 
as a ruling elder and she still assists with the serving of communion.
  Joanne now enjoys the beach, traveling, her three cats, and spending 
time with her fiance, Rudy.
  Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of Joanne Weaver's retirement, I ask the 
members of the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in 
congratulating and honoring her service. I yield back the balance of my 
time.

                          ____________________