John J. Weiss, 86, of Wilmette, a national bank examiner for 33 years with the U.S. Treasury Department who oversaw its trust department for a year, died from leukemia Tuesday, March 12, in the Palliative CareCenter & Hospice of the North Shore in Skokie. Born and raised in Chicago, Mr. Weiss and his family moved to Chippewa Falls, Wis., when he was in 6th grade. He was valedictorian at Chippewa Falls Senior High School and earned a sociology degree in 1937 from the University of Chicago. Known for being meticulous and a problem-solver, Mr. Weiss began monitoring the behavior of national banks for the Treasury Department in its Minneapolis office. During World War II, he served as an interpreter on the front lines in Europe, using the German he had learned from his immigrant parents. Following his discharge in 1946, Mr. Weiss continued his oversight of national banks in the Treasury’s Chicago office. In 1973, he was tapped to head the Treasury’s trust department in Washington, D.C. He retired a year later, although he continued to work part-time as a trust officer and trust consultant. A genealogist, he was able to trace his family back to 17th Century Germany. Mr. Weiss is survived by a wife, Elizabeth; a son, John; two daughters, Laura Kracum and Susan Weiss; a brother, Arthur; a sister, Eleanor Nielsen; and four grandchildren. Services have been held.
