By Erica Thomas, managing editor
If you do nothing else today, make someone smile. You never know what they’re going through and just how much your positivity may impact them.
TRUSSVILLE — He was known to smile a lot. He was known to make others smile. William Hunter Weaver never let challenges get in the way of his positive attitude. Now, the family of Weaver and the community are coming to grips after he passed away on Jan. 23, 2021.
Born on May 9, 1992, Weaver always knew how to light up a room, according to his sister, Brandie Weaver.
“He would always leave an everlasting impression, with anyone, who had ever met him,” said Weaver.
At the age of five, Hunter was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, which would eventually lead to him being wheelchair-bound. But that didn’t stop his smile.
“It was his sense of humor, the jokes, the laughs and his contagious smile, that is what will always make him unforgettable,” Weaver explained.
Among his many hobbies and interests, Hunter enjoyed hunting in his early years and video games and antique shopping as he grew older. His family said Hunter got the latest and greatest gaming system every Christmas.
Weaver remembered her brother had an eye for antiques.
“He managed to always find a new camera, every time he went antique shopping,” said Weaver. “Hunter had collected so many cameras, we ended up losing count.”
Hunter’s uncle Chuck Bradford helped take care of Hunter in his younger years. Again, Bradford said he remembers that sense of humor.
“He was very humorous,” said Bradford. “He was very mischievous but in a funny way. He wasn’t scared of anything.”
Bradford said he remembered a time when he was about five-years-old and Hunter got himself in a precarious position.
“His dad was on the roof fixing something and Hunter actually climbed the ladder and walked the ledge of the roofline.”
When his father saw him, he told him not to move but Bradford said Hunter didn’t understand what the problem was.
“He was like, ‘What?” Bradford explained. “So, his father went and got him down and he was just not scared of anything.”
Hunter enjoyed imitating people and making others laugh, Bradford said.
“For a kid who had muscular dystrophy, he was just as happy as he could be,” Bradford continued. “He was just living life and making friends.”
Hunter was very smart and very creative. He had an artistic side and enjoyed drawing.
“As he got older, his muscle movements were very restricted to where he couldn’t move anything but his fingers,” Bradford said. “He had a little trigger on his wheelchair so he could control it but I tell you what, he was hilarious even driving a wheelchair.”
Bradford said Hunter would ride his wheelchair around downtown Trussville.
“His wheelchair had a mechanism where he could jack it up,” Bradford remembered. “Every once in a while you would see him going down the street, riding high.”
A year before he died, Hunter’s Uncle Chuck made one of his dreams come true. The Trussville Police Department swore him in as an honorary officer.
“We did all we could for him,” Bradford added. “Even as a teenager, he talked about wanting to be a police officer so I think being sworn in was very special to him.”
He even got his own badge personalized for him. Badge number 392 because Hunter was born in 1992.
“I tried to help him remember the significance of the badge number,” said Bradford. We were able to issue him badge number 392, which is his forever. Nobody else will have that number.”
The family is planning a drive-thru memorial service on Saturday, Jan. 30, from First Baptist Church Trussville to the Peoples’ residence at 7721 Happy Hollow Road. The procession will be led by the Trussville Police Department beginning at 1 p.m.
The family is asking for donations to Magic Moments of Birmingham, instead of flowers. The organization did so much for Hunter during his lifetime. The organization even sent him and his family to Disney World when Hunter was six-years-old.
Although Hunter Weaver is no longer smiling big and riding high on his ‘jacked-up wheelchair’, he is flying high. On Jan. 23, he took his last breath. Surrounded by his family, he peacefully passed away leaving behind a lifetime of memories and inspiration for others.
“Hunter was set free and no longer bound to his wheelchair and entered the peaceful life of heaven,” read his obituary.