{"id":444,"date":"2018-08-10T15:35:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T15:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/alumni\/?page_id=444"},"modified":"2018-08-10T15:36:23","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T15:36:23","slug":"weiss","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/sweethearts-stories\/weiss\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill and Lois Weiss – Meant to be Together"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Bill and Lois Weiss stopped to reminisce about their WestConn days in the Office of Admissions on the second floor of Old Main. When they were students at what was then Danbury State Teacher\u2019s College, this area housed the campus library. In the 90s, the room was restored to pay tribute to the historical significance of the space.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

(as featured in the Spring 2009 AlumniNews)
\nBy Irene Sherlock<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

That old truism about the course of true love never running smoothly is a bit of an understatement when it comes to Bill \u201961, \u201970 and his wife, Lois \u201961, \u201971, \u201978 (Heckler O\u2019Hara) Weiss. In point of fact, after starting up in 1958, it sputtered and didn\u2019t run at all for a while.<\/p>\n

A long while.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start at the beginning. Flash back to the late \u201950s: the two WestConn students were dancing the Lindy together at live music clubs like Danbury\u2019s Avalon and Armando\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did love to dance,\u201d says Lois, recollecting how they managed to fit that favorite pastime into their college days.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we loved live music,\u201d adds Bill, her husband of 10 years. The two met while attending what was then Danbury State Teachers College, and they were quite taken with one another. At the time, Bill had served four years in the Air Force and was now finishing his degree on the G.I. Bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d been out in the world and seen a lot of life,\u201d says Lois, explaining one of the things about Bill that intrigued her but also set him apart from her own experience. \u201cI was only just beginning to taste my independence.\u201d Their religious differences gave her pause, as well.<\/p>\n

So the couple split up. Each earned a B.S. in Education from what had become Danbury State College and both worked as educators all their professional lives. They went on to meet new people, each ultimately marrying and settling down in the Danbury area.<\/p>\n

Lois earned an M.A. in Education and a Professional Diploma of Advanced Study in Reading from WestConn. She then graduated from the Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) Administration and Supervision Program.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bill had taken on earning an M.S. in Education from WestConn and a sixth year diploma in Administration and Supervision from SCSU. He taught middle school science for 31 years in the Danbury school system.<\/p>\n

After a full and successful 31-year career of teaching, he retired, becoming a frequent attendee at WestConn\u2019s basketball and baseball games. He had played baseball himself at WestConn, where he was considered an outstanding catcher.<\/p>\n

For a time, Bill and his then-wife, Thyra, enjoyed their new life, but then she became ill and ultimately passed away.<\/p>\n

Lois also had seen her share of loss. She was widowed at a young age and had focused on raising her two children alone. Her work as a reading and language arts teacher in the Bethel school system continued throughout those years.<\/p>\n

In time, she heard through the grapevine that her long-ago beau Bill Weiss had been widowed. But they hadn\u2019t kept in touch, except for meeting at their 25th class reunion. She hoped he\u2019d been happy in his marriage and didn\u2019t think much more about it.<\/p>\n

As it happened, Bill knew that Lois had lost her spouse early on, but he\u2019d heard little else about her. \u201cI ran into a friend of hers,\u201d he says. The friend was going to a party that night. \u201cShe told me Lois was giving the party and invited me to come along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a bit put out about that little unplanned invitation,\u201d Lois recalls. She worried it would be an awkward evening. But she needn\u2019t have: Sparks flew almost immediately. The nice kind of sparks, she says.<\/p>\n

As Bill remembers it, they had a good time. So he asked her on a date.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to King Neptune\u2019s. It was about 40 years after we\u2019d first met.\u201d Lois\u2019 voice takes on a tender note as she says this. You just know this is a story the two love to tell about reconnection and getting a second chance at love.<\/p>\n

That night after dinner, Bill brought his \u2018new date\u2019 home to her house. \u201cI got out my old 45 records,\u201d she says, \u201cand we rolled up my living room rug.\u201d<\/p>\n

She leans forward, drops her voice and looks a little mischievous. \u201cMy grown daughter came home and couldn\u2019t believe that her not-so-young mother was dancing with her old boyfriend in the living room!\u201d<\/p>\n

They were engaged six months later. While Lois taught her last semester of school, Bill planned the wedding. The reception was held at Anthony\u2019s Lake Club and Lois reports it was a lively success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe band was Higher and Higher. They played \u201950s and \u201960s songs the whole time!\u201d Lois recalls. Their trivia group threw an after-reception party for the couple, who later honeymooned on the magnificent QE2.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is good,\u201d Lois sighs, and you have to believe her. The Weisses are enjoying retirement, travel, each other \u2026 and attending events at WestConn whenever they can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bill and Lois Weiss stopped to reminisce about their WestConn days in the Office of Admissions on the second floor of Old Main. When they were students at what was then Danbury State Teacher\u2019s College, this area housed the campus …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":395,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-444","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/444\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}