Jerry (Gerald) Weaver

History Story

 

This is where I probably will be helpful with the legal community, because I knew those people back then. Vic reduced his practice about the time he got the Water Users job. He was probably in his late 60’s when he took that job, and had it for 10 or 12 years. He’s still living, and his wife is still living. They live here in Montrose.

I took the bar exam in the middle of February 1971. I finished my course work in December 1970. I took the job on March 24th. I came over here and still did not have the bar results. I was taking a little bit of a chance because if I hadn’t passed, I would have had to go back to Denver with my tail between my legs and start the process over again. 

Some of the attorneys who are here and still practiced actually were in that same group, and did get to go back and try again. At any rate, there were several of us who arrived at about the same time in various law firms.

Jim Austin was here - he came the first part of 1971. Bob Schmitt came as Superintendent in the school district. Steve Scott came as the hospital administrator. All within that calendar year. Charles Young came as an optometrist about the same time, and he served on the school board.   He was friends with a lot of these same people.

Charles Young’s son is now the head professional here at Black Canyon Golf Course. Right now, Charles, Chuck, Charlie, whatever you want to call him, is in Yuma. He lives outside of town - he’s still around.

That was a busy year of people coming in and taking the bar. Del Kinkel was the manager of what was then Montrose Savings and Loan. My law firm represented that Savings and Loan Association because it was on one corner of the same block our law office was, on South 2nd and Uncompahgre. The Savings and Loan was very close to the Court house - we were a block east of that, right across from the funeral home that has been gone and then come back - the Valley Funeral home. I don’t know what it is, if it’s anything now. But we were directly across the street from that funeral home, and a block south of City Hall.

I became a partner after about 18 months, then it became Petrie, Woodrow, Roushar and Weaver for a period of time. Charlie Petrie passed away - then it was Woodrow, Roushar and Weaver. I left that firm in 1984 and established my own solo practice. There was a place called Bumble Bee Café on Cascade between Main Street and North First. It’s where Sam’s Tavern is now, I think. The front half was a café, and there was storage behind what now is the parking lot behind DeVinny’s Jewelers was my law office. My practice was in that building for a year. It was kind of a make-do thing.  Then I moved back over to South Second, right across from that old Savings and Loan building in 1985. I was there until 1989, and then I bought a building on South Fifth, just half a block from Townsend, and converted that into a law office. It is a two story building, where Jeff Keehfus is - now called Montrose Real Estate Group, I think. There used to be a Tastee Freez there. My law office was, and still is, two doors in from that.