Obituary of Thomas L. Wehr

Thomas L. Wehr, 68, of Washington, passed away Thursday, July 23, 2015 at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, July 26th at the Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City with a time of visitation and fellowship following the service. Memorial contributions may be given to the Friends of the Iowa City New Horizons Band. Thomas Lynn Wehr was born November 9, 1946, in Washington, Iowa; son of Harold T. Wehr and Mary Lynn (Heilman) Sorden. Tom grew up in Mount Pleasant, and after graduating from Mount Pleasant High School he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Iowa. Throughout his career, and most of his adult life, he was a high school band director. He began his career at Woodward-Granger where he taught for five years, later moving to Knoxville High School where he would spend the next twenty years of his career. From there he spent a short time in Muscatine, where he was able to teach alongside his daughter, Erin, for a year, a great privilege for both father and daughter. He then returned to the area of the State where he grew up to become the band director at Washington High School in Washington, Iowa where he would retire after 12 years of teaching. He loved music, but more than that, he loved teaching and influencing young musicians and watching those students become successful in their lives and careers. Along with teaching, he loved to sail, and enjoyed traveling Iowa to participate in (and often win) sailboat regattas. He especially enjoyed being on the waters of Lake Red Rock, and recently kept a boat named Ragtime on Lake Michigan in Whitehall, Michigan. Tom also owned the business Sail Iowa! and sold and serviced many of the sailboats in the area. Locally, Thomas performed with the Iowa City New Horizons Band, the Silver Swing Band, and directed the Monday Night Live! Band with Erin. He was also a longtime member of the Iowa Band Masters Association. Thomas's family includes his children, Erin Wehr (William P. Mann) of Coralville; Kelsey Wehr of Crosby, MN; Christopher Wehr currently of Winona, MN; and brother, Tim Wehr (Jude Moss) of Coralville. He was preceded in death by his granddaughter, Cassidy Flowers in 2007; his parents and former wife, Janet Kay (Register) Mannen.