Dr. Raymond Weaver was a man of great energy who engaged in several professional activities during his life.
Born in 1899 on his father’s successful Lone Elm Stock Farm approximately three miles west of Enon, Weaver came of age the youngest of six children and attended the local one-room Grant School. With his home located near small creeks and ponds, he acquired a penchant for fishing at an early age that lasted throughout his lifetime.
By the time he reached 20 years of age, Weaver had supplemented his agricultural work on his father’s farm by becoming a private detective, as verified by an advertisement in the Moniteau County Plat book from 1920.
His grandchildren are uncertain as to the specific activities he was hired to investigate, but it is suspected that because of Enon’s proximity to the Bagnell Branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Rock Island Railroad in Eldon, he investigated railroad-related crimes.
“On October 22, Miss Bessie A. Williams, daughter of Wm. E. Williams, was married to Raymond E. Weaver,” reported the Eldon Advertiser on Oct. 28, 1920. “Mr. Weaver is the son of W.A. Weaver, one of the most prosperous farmers of this (Enon) community. Raymond and his wife will reside on the farm recently purchased from Raymond’s father.”
His work as a private detective, in addition to farming endeavors, did not satisfy his lofty ambitions and he chose to pursue a course of education that might provide a greater income.
“In August 1931, Dr. Raymond Elwood and Bessie Alberta Williams Weaver came to Russellville …” explained the souvenir book printed for Russellville’s sesquicentennial in 1988. “Dr. Weaver had just graduated from Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City, Missouri.”
It continued, “They had three children at that time: Irma Lee, Norma June, and Raymond Vern. Dr. Weaver performed chiropractic in his home office above the Farmer’s and Merchants Bank at the corner of Railroad Avenue and McDavitt Street for a short time … (and later) moved his family practice to 205 McDavitt, where he also served as Cole County Coroner from 1932 to 1936.”
Their fourth and final child, Carl Duane, was born in 1934. Six years later, Weaver purchased a nearby property, tearing down the house that stood there and building a new home for his family that also served as an office for his many pursuits.
The new Weaver home also “included his Chiropractic Office and Income Tax Service and Estate Settlement Service for area residents,” the sesquicentennial book added.
Weaver later became a charter MFA insurance agent on March 1, 1946, adding to his repertoire of many professional services.
“During all of this, he was also a state revenue registration agent,” said his grandson, Dennis Jungmeyer. “People would come to his office to get a chiropractic adjustment and would pay their vehicle license registrations at the same time. Then he would take the paperwork into his office in Jefferson City and have it processed for them.”
Jungmeyer had many wonderful opportunities to share time with his grandfather, often helping him work in his vegetable garden and fulfilling the role of a “packhorse” on fishing trips.
“Grandpa Doc was an avid fisherman, but it seemed like he never wanted to fish anywhere that was convenient,” Jungmeyer recalled. “We’d go and park down by the Rockhouse Bridge (north of Russellville) and I’d carry his five or six fishing poles while we walked a couple of miles to a fishing spot, passing several great spots along the way.”
He added, “Grandpa Weaver would carry with him a box of nickel-a-piece King Edward cigars and smoked them while we fished.”
Jungmeyer’s recollections also include memories of his grandfather designating a section of his home as a retail outlet for fishing tackle. Additionally, he sold beef and honey, and later opened a drug store inside his home office.
Weaver purchased a 20-acre property a short distance west of Russellville that had a home and a small lake, where he decided to move his family. He continued to use his previous home in Russellville as an office and in 1954 built an addition for his wife to use as a sundries shop.
He became involved in local politics and civic affairs, serving as a treasurer, councilman and mayor for Russellville, and in his spare time helped establish the Russellville Lions Club. The Weaver family was also dedicated to their Christian faith, attending the United Methodist Church in Russellville.
In 1965, he turned his Income Tax Service over to his daughter, Norma June Jungmeyer, which she operated through 1985, according to the Russellville sesquicentennial book.
The doctor’s first wife, Bessie, died in 1971 and during the summer of 1972, he married Louise Kusgen. Weaver was 74 years old when he died in 1974 and was laid to rest alongside his first wife in the High Point Cemetery, not far from the farm where he had been born and raised.
The home that once housed his sundry businesses for several years became an insurance and realty office for his daughter and son-in-law, but has since reverted to use as a single-family home. The home he later purchased west of town has been demolished and the property cleared.
Many area residents still share stories and recollections of Weaver, affirming that despite the amount of time he invested in being successful in his many business endeavors, he was community-minded and well-respected.
“My grandfather was absolutely the best joke-teller in five counties and people enjoyed being around him,” Dennis Jungmeyer said. “He just had an amazing energy level and was successful at everything he did, but he wasn’t arrogant about it.”
He added, “He wore many hats and everything he did connected him to people in his community. He loved being around people, and people loved him.”
Jeremy P. Ämick is the author of “Moments on the Moreau.”
Courtesy/Kevin Jungmeyer
Raymond Weaver was born in 1899 on a farm three miles west of Enon and is pictured in 1920 when serving as a private investigator. In later years, he moved to Russellville, where he worked in many business roles such as a chiropractor, small-scale farmer and insurance agent.