George, Weber (1930-2003)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Jan 13 p. 1, 12

Birth date: 1930

text of obituary:

Crash takes life of CPT man in Iraq

By CPT News Service and MWR staff

A Christian Peacemaker Teams worker taking part in a peace delegation in Iraq was killed in a road accident Jan. 6 north of Basra.

George Weber, 73, of Chesley, Ont., a member of Hanover (Ont.) Mennonite Church, was killed instantly in the rollover accident while traveling with the CPT delegation. Weber is the first worker in CPT's 15-year history to be killed while on a peace mission.

CPT workers Charlie Jackson, 43, of San Antonio, Texas, and Michele Naar-Obed, 46, of Duluth, Minn., sustained moderate injuries in the crash. Two others in the vehicle had minor injuries.

According to CPT officials, six delegates were riding in a Chevrolet Suburban as part of a three-vehicle caravan returning to Baghdad from Basra. The left rear tire of the vehicle blew out, causing the Suburban to fish-tail. The Iraqi driver tried to stabilize the vehicle, but it struck the shoulder of the road, rolled over and came to rest upside-down beside the road. Weber sustained massive head injuries when he was thrown from the vehicle.

Iraqi passers-by and CPT delegates from the other two vehicles witnessed the crash and immediately came to help. The delegation then returned to Basra, where the victims were examined and treated at a local hospital.

Jackson sustained a broken rib and back injuries in the accident and was hospitalized. Naar-Obed suffered a broken nose and neck injuries but was treated and released. Delegates Larry Kehler, 69, of Winnipeg, Man., and Pat Basler, 64, of Webster, Wis., also were treated for minor injuries and released.

Delegation members said while in Iraq, Weber had been most deeply touched by the children he saw suffering from radiation-related cancers and lack of medications prohibited by United Nations economic sanctions.

"On this day, Christians celebrate Epiphany when strangers brought gifts from the East. Our delegation came from the West. George Weber brought the gift of his life," said delegation leader Cliff Kindy, 53, of North Manchester, Ind.

Weber was a retired history teacher and trained CPT Reservist. He served in 2001 and 2002 with the CPT team in Hebron, West Bank. With his wife, Lena, he had also spent three years teaching in Nigeria in the 1960s.

CPT director Gene Stoltzfus said Weber "was a really good man . . . very devoted to trying to figure out a better way to do things in the world."

When Weber first applied to CPT in 1999, he wrote: "I think that most of the calamities that befall ordinary folk could be alleviated if it were not for the selfishness and greed that motivate the power structures which are in place throughout the world. But there are also many people of good will who wish to treat everyone fairly and with charity. I try to be among this group."

CPT delegates issued a statement that attested to the driver's skillful handling of the vehicle in an attempt to avert the crash. The delegation also thanked the Iraqi hospital workers and local officials who provided quick and compassionate assistance to the group after the accident.

The 17-person delegation has been in Iraq since Dec. 29, visiting hospitals and other Iraqi civilian institutions to witness firsthand the impact of 13 years of sanctions, the Gulf War and the threat of another war on the Iraqi people.

Other delegation members include Anne Albright of McPherson, Kan., Le Anne Clausen of Mason City, Iowa, Bill and Genie Durland of Cokedale, Colo., Thomas Finger of Evanston, Ill., Peggy Gish of Athens, Ohio, Sue Gray of Carbondale, Colo., Charlie Jackson of San Antonion, Texas, Robert Leonetti of Trinidad, Col., Jim Loney of Priceville, Ont., Mary Ellen McDonagh of Chicago and Anne Montgomery of New York.

Stoltzfus said four members of the team had decided to remain in Iraq after the others left. He said the delegation had planned before the crash to leave Iraq on Jan. 8 and to fly home from Amman, Jordan of Jan. 9.

He said one member had volunteered to accompany Weber's body back to Ontario.

Another CPT delegation was scheduled to leave for Iraq on Jan. 11. Its members will take part in a peace conference at the University of Baghdad.

Weber is survived by his wife and children. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Dec 29 p. 7