Former PNGA President Weston Passes
Picture – Harold Weston stands outside the R&A building next to the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. Weston was a longtime member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club.
Harold “Hal” Weston brightened the world around him and the lives of all he came in contact with for 93 years.
In 1938 he was elected student body president at the University of Oregon. In this capacity, he greeted the UO basketball team, the Tall Firs, in 1939 at the train station as they arrived back in Eugene, victorious, as the first NCAA basketball champions. He also lettered in track all four years.
After he was honorably discharged from military service in 1946, he and his wife Betty lived in Portland. Against his wife’s better judgment, he used his severance pay from the Army to join Portland Golf Club. This turned out to be a very good move. Portland Golf Club and golf in general were to be major forces and inspirations for the rest of his life.
He continued to work with his father and because everyone loved to play golf with Harold once they got to know him, they wanted to do business with him. C.H. Weston Insurance Co. grew and merged with D.K. McDonald Co. of Seattle. In later years this company was absorbed into the insurance brokerage firm of Marsh and McLennan. Harold served as a senior vice president and mentor to many until his retirement. Harold’s golf prowess was legendary as were demands to serve in leadership capacities.
His service positions included the Emanuel Hospital Foundation board, the University of Oregon Foundation board of trustees, Arlington Club president, Portland Golf Club president, Waverley Country Club vice president, Downtown Rotary member, Rose Festival Committee member, Oregon Club of Portland president, PNGA president, Northwest Seniors Golf Association president, Oregon Juniors/Seniors Golf Association president, Western Golf Association director, and USGA Amateur Championship Committee member for over 20 years.
His golf triumphs included club champion of Portland Golf Club in 1948 and 1952; Oregon Coast Grand Champion, 1956; club champion at Waverley Country Club, 1968; Oregon State Junior/Senior Champion, 1969; Oregon Coast Junior/Senior Champion, 1971; Oregon Coast Senior Champion, 1973; Seniors Northwest Championships in 1975 and 1976; Blythe Champion ,1975; and Oregon State Seniors Champion, 1978.
Harold also qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship 12 times and played in three. He played in one U.S. Senior Amateur. He was a member of the 1956 Hudson Cup Team.
In 1963 he received the George Bertz Memorial Award from the Sports Writers & Sports Casters Association of Oregon, the state’s highest golf honor.
In 1997 he was elected to the PNGA Hall of Fame for his distinguished achievements in amateur golf competition and outstanding contributions to amateur golf in the Pacific Northwest. He served as a course rater for Golf Digest. He was a longtime member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland.
Harold was a huge proponent of the PNGA Evans Caddie Scholarship program. In his honor, donations may be made to the PNGA – Harold Weston Memorial Fund, 1010 S. 336th St., Suite 310, Federal Way, WA 98003. For more information, call the PNGA office at 800-643-6410.
– Thanks to Eric Yaillen/OGA
