Francis “Bud” Tweed, 81, of Delavan, passed away Sunday, July 7, 2013, at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born Aug. 25, 1931, in Newark Del., to the late Frank and Florence (Baylis) Tweed.
He attended school in the Newark public schools system. In 1951, he enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served for three years during the Korean War.
In 1952, he married Phyllis R. Gallaher of Leeds, Md. They had two sons, David F. and James E.
In 1954, he began his studies at the University of Delaware, where he graduated from in 1958 with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering.
Following graduation, he was employed at Bell Labs and then by E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company. In 1969, he came to Delavan and was employed by Borg Textiles, where he was the manager of the engineering department. Then in 1971, he was transferred to the corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill. He later joined Zenith Electronics at their picture tube plant where he was director of engineering services.
During this time, he earned his master’s degree from the National College of Education. His last assignment was with Suncast Corp., which he retired from in 1996.
In 2001, he moved back to Delavan. In his retirement, he was very active in the area. For a number of years, he was president of the Walworth County Genealogical Society and Area Lakes Seniors. He was also a member of American Legion Post 95 in Delavan and was a 43-year member of the Delavan Masonic Lodge. He enjoyed history and doing research. He researched his family’s genealogy and also helped others do the same. He researched all of the Masonic Lodges that ever existed in Walworth County and wrote a book on his finding.
He also enjoyed working in his flowerbeds. He was an amateur radio operator, “HAM” with a call sign of N9FWM, and a member of the Lakes Area Amateur Radio Club.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Phyllis; son, David (Christine), of Manitowoc; and daughter-in-law, Alicia Tweed.
He was further preceded in death by his son, James.
Services will be 7 p.m. Sunday, July 14, at the Monroe Funeral Home, 604 E. Walworth Ave., Delavan. Visitation will be from 5:30 p.m. to time of service on Sunday at the funeral home.
Memorials to Aurora VNA Hospice or the American Legion Post 95 of Delavan are suggested.
