Kerry Weems

Kerry Neil Weems died at the age of 66 on August 31, 2023, of glioblastoma. He passed away peacefully at home in Spirit Lake, Iowa, on a beautiful evening looking out at the lake. Kerry was born on September 8, 1956, in Portales, New Mexico to Doye Neil Weems and Anita Brown Weems. He received an HSD from San Marcos Academy, a BA in Philosophy and a BBA in Management from New Mexico State University, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico. Kerry’s early, and maybe most formative years, were spent bouncing between Las Cruces, NM, San Marcos, TX, and Jedda, Saudi Arabia. While his father worked for the Raytheon missile program in Saudi Arabia, Kerry would travel between the Arabian Gulf and San Marcos Academy in Texas. There was never any shortage of stories from Saudi Arabia. Whatever mischief happened at San Marcos seemed to be subject to a pact of silence. Most of Kerry’s adult life was spent in the Washington, D.C. area. Kerry spent much of his professional career working for the Federal Government. Kerry first moved to D.C. in the early 1980s to work for his Senator, Harrison Schmitt (R-NM). It was during this time that he met his wife, Jean, who had also moved to D.C. to work for her Senator, Charles Grassley (R-IA). They first met while commuting on the Metro across the Potomac River from Arlington, VA to Capitol Hill. Such meetings are now as infrequent and unlikely as those that happen on the International Space Station. Kerry and Jean put down roots in the Virginia suburbs and raised their three children, Peter, Claire, and Anna. Kerry was very involved in his children’s lives, volunteering for their swim teams, serving on their school’s Board of Directors, and thoroughly interrogating friends and suitors. A favorite activity while raising his kids was the weekly “Scary Movie Night” where Kerry subjected his family over the years to hundreds of B-movies from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Kerry’s professional accomplishments are too numerous to be listed in full. After leaving Capitol Hill, he spent nearly 30 years working first for the Social Security Administration, and then the United States Department of Health and Human Services. By the time he left government work, Kerry was managing thousands of people and hundreds of billions of dollars and had been personally named by President George W. Bush to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He would only occasionally bring up the fact that, even after a positive Finance Committee confirmation hearing, the Senate failed to confirm him officially to the post. After leaving government, Kerry kept himself busy by serving on corporate boards, working in private equity, leading companies, writing opinion and policy pieces, giving speeches, and consulting for businesses working in healthcare. Among other things, he spent time as CEO of several companies, and as Executive Chairman of the Value Based Healthcare Investors Alliance at Leavitt Partners. His career was dedicated to making sure that the healthcare system worked as effectively as possible. Kerry and Jean eventually departed Northern Virginia and settled in Sedona, Arizona. He found some small irony in the fact that he and his wife came to D.C. riding the wave of the Reagan Revolution and left on January 6, 2021. Kerry and Jean quickly found Sedona to be their dream home and encouraged friends and family to visit. He enjoyed daily hikes through the red rocks hills surrounding their house, and despite a lifelong rationalist streak and disdain for the “woo woo”, Kerry would always remark on when he had visited a vortex. The friendships that Kerry made were lifelong and deep. Kerry counted among his close friends a diverse cast of characters, including podiatrists, military officers, sportswriters, small business owners, bankers, Home Depot employees, Governors, Senators, business executives, and countless others. For most of the decades he lived in Northern Virginia, Kerry and his friends could be found holding court and solving the world’s problems every weekend at Fat Tuesdays in Fairfax over beers, cigars, and jambalaya. Kerry loved dogs and he and his family always had at least one. Mac, Penny, Boji, and Lizzie were waiting for him on the other side. It is hoped that Suki sticks around here a while longer. In recent years, Kerry found a renewed love for traveling, taking multiple trips to South America, visiting Antarctica, and most recently cruising the Mediterranean with Jean. If he had any regrets, they would be that he never got to visit the ancestral family castle in Scotland and that he will miss the Big Family Vacation he had been excitedly looking forward to. The end came abruptly and unexpectedly—less than seven weeks after his initial diagnosis. Kerry had so much more he was looking forward to, and it is for this that his loss will be most profoundly felt by his family and friends. Anyone who knew him was impressed by his intellect, humor, truthfulness, and personal and professional accomplishments. Despite missing out on what that future might have held, Kerry would have looked back at his legacy and accomplishments and very modestly appraised it all as “bueno”. Kerry is survived by his wife, Jean; his children Peter, Claire Shaffer (Scott), and Anna Veltri (Joe); his grandchildren Holden, Julia, and Matthew; his mother Anita; and his siblings Erma, Charleese, Lyndon, and David.. He was preceded in death all too prematurely by his brother Matt and all too recently by his father, Neil. A memorial service will be held at Greer’s Mortuary in Sedona, Arizona, at 11:00, Saturday, September 9, 2023. Kerry’s family requests that memorials be made to the Glioblastoma Foundation, Brain Tumor Society, or a charity of your choice.

Kerry Weems

September 8, 1956 - August 31, 2023