Story and photos by Bob Wellinski
(Click on photos to enlarge)
John Weeks’ small frame body is barely big enough to contain his big heart and perpetual smile. For 50 years, John has volunteered immeasurable hours working with kids at local bowling alleys and baseball fields. An unsuspecting Weeks was escorted by family to a surprise ceremony in his honor at Casey’s Lanes Saturday morning, Dec. 27, 2014, where family, friends and former athletes gathered.
Saturday’s ceremony was to recognize and thank John for all the lives he’s touched over the past half century. John served in various roles in the youth bowling leagues at both Casey’s Lanes and Thunderbird bowling alleys. He also coached and served on the board of the LaPorte City Little L program.
During the brief ceremony, John was presented with a plaque and a heartfelt letter written on a bowling pin, and gratefully received many hugs, handshakes and kind words.
“I was trying to figure why I got this. It was only 50 years, what the heck,” Weeks said.
Longtime friend and colleague Dan Evans organized the somewhat last-minute event. “He’s touched so many of us in everything we did. That’s 50 years of youth leadership and teaching,” Evans said.
With all his years devoted to the local bowling community, here’s a piece of trivia: He is the only member of the LaPorte Bowling Hall of Fame who is not a bowler. During his bowling days, a softball injury to his right elbow forced him to switch from bowling right-handed to left-handed. But the effects of a gunshot wound to his knee suffered in Korea forced him to give up the sport entirely in the 1970s. John retired at the age of 55 from LaPorte’s Allis-Chalmers when the farm implement plant closed.
The walls of Casey’s Lanes came nowhere close to containing the number of people whose lives have been touched by John. Dan and John’s son, Dale, attempted to figure the number of bowlers, baseball players and parents John worked with and they both came to the conclusion it was in the tens of thousands. “If you mention his name, somewhere a kid has run into him either on the ball diamond or the bowling alley,” Dale said. “Whether you love him or hate him (from those encounters), he is well respected.” Young and old still refer to him as Mr. Weeks.
The love of children was apparent by the time he devoted to the youngsters. It wasn’t uncommon to catch him at the alleys during the week or staying late after leagues to work with young bowlers. He would make sure youth bowling teams made it to state tournaments by driving them himself. (Rumor has it that some of those tournament fell around the time of his wedding anniversary.) John would pick up baseball players from their homes, take them to the field and work with them on pitching, catching and batting. “Kids meant a lot to me,” John said.
Asked which he liked better — bowling or baseball — he joked that baseball takes the lead because it’s easier to get to the diamond in summertime than the lanes in wintertime.
The most important thing to John was for the kids to have fun. And in return, he had fun watching kids develop their skills. Both Dan and Dale agreed that John enjoyed teaching the ones with less talent and seeing them develop. It gave him the most joy because he could follow their progress. Dale recalls the year they won the Little L city championship together. One of the kids they worked with all season caught a fly ball and wound up being one of the main reasons they won the game.
Dale said coaching with John was fun, but being his co-coach could also be a pain in the butt. The father/son team coached together for about 10-15 years. Dale would run ideas past John because at one time or another, John has either done it or seen it. Friend Dan added, “I coached a dozen or so years against the Weeks, but I’ve learned so much more coaching with the Weeks. Outside of my family, (John) is the greatest mentor of my life. He taught me how to work with the kids and handle the parents. I consider him family.”
John’s family consists of his loving wife of 63 years, Carole, and children Carla, Julie, Dan and Dale.
“If you love it, do it.” — John Weeks
