Weatherly, former parasitology professor, dies at 83

July 17, 2015

Dr. Norman Fred Weatherly, professor emeritus of parasitology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, died July 13 in Durham, N.C. He was 83.

Dr. Norman Weatherly (standing, left) reviewed the work of parasitology students at the School in the 1960s.

Dr. Weatherly arrived in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1962, planning on a one-year postdoctoral appointment, but never left the University of North Carolina’s public health school. By 1972, he was professor in the school’s Department of Parasitology and Laboratory Practice. During his career, he mentored more than 30 doctoral students and taught parasitology to first-year medical students at UNC and Duke University.

In 1980, he received the school’s Edward G. McGavran Award for teaching excellence, and in 1986, was presented with its Bernard G. Greenberg Alumni Endowment Award for excellence in teaching, research and service. He was a Delta Omega Society National Merit Awardee in 1988.

His family recalls that he found pleasure in the life-long relationships he maintained and nurtured with former students around the country and world.

An active community member, Dr. Weatherly served on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board. He was an involved member and past president of the Kiwanis Club, and deacon and elder of the University Presbyterian Church, volunteering in the church office as recently as June 2015. He also served on the Carol Woods Retirement Community’s board of directors and was a member of the Orange County Economic Development Commission.

“Norman had an exceptional gift for being able to talk with persons in all walks of life and make others feel valued and respected,” his obituary noted. “He never forgot the life lessons he learned growing up on the farm in the close-knit community of Elkton, Ore., and he cherished trips back to his childhood home. He was equally at ease in his professional life and thrived in the scientific and academic environment.”

Dr. Weatherly is survived by Eileen Weatherly, his wife of nearly 63 years, six children, 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, among other family members.

A memorial service will be held Monday, July 20, at 2 p.m., at the University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Memorial gifts may be made to the University Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 509, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, directed to the Faith Forward Campaign; or to Duke Hospice, Hock Family Pavilion, 4023 N. Roxboro Rd., Durham, NC 27704.

The full obituary appeared in the July 15 News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.).