Legal News photographer to bid farewell to the state this summer

By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News

Legal News freelance photographer Frank Weir is moving with his wife Barb, a retired special education teacher, to Minneapolis to be near their daughter Annie, son-in-law Sam, and infant grandson Bo.

Weir has served as a Legal News photographer for a number of years, covering many events for the Washtenaw County Bar Association (WCBA). His photos often ran in several editions of The Legal News, and he has also covered events for other local media.

The Weirs, who also have a son Peter, have lived in Saline for many years.

“It’s very hard for me to leave and start over at 70, but it would be difficult to be so far from family heading toward 80,” Weir wrote in an e-mail. “I've thoroughly enjoyed all the great times during my association with all of you and will greatly miss the community. I hope to visit and see at least some of you in the future.”

A native of Rockford, Ill., Weir moved several times in childhood – to Houston, Seattle, and finally to Northville during high school. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, then landed a position at The Maple City Reporter, a small – and long-since defunct – newspaper in Adrian. He later became a sports editor for The Tecumseh Herald before deciding to pursue a law degree.

After graduating from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1986, Weir practiced law for 10 years, working for the Toledo Legal Aid Society, then for the UAW Legal Services Plan in Toledo.  

He returned to his journalism roots at The Reporter Papers in Saline where he covered local sports and city government. He left the paper in the early 2000s to work with attorney Fred Schmerberg in Saline, then started to freelance with The Legal News around 2005, before joining the newspaper full time.

He served as editor of The Washtenaw County Legal News and The Jackson County Legal News for several years before retiring in 2012; and was honored by Jackson Business and Professional Women as the 2010-11 Person of Achievement.