WHEELING — George S. Weaver Jr., a businessman, civic leader and longtime champion of Wheeling and the Ohio Valley, died Monday at his home. He was 92.

Weaver impacted the community through his business leadership, public service and volunteer work with many of the Ohio Valley’s most important institutions. Friends and colleagues remembered him as a visionary who could bring people together, build consensus and turn ambitious ideas into reality.

Weaver was a lifelong resident of Wheeling, attending Wheeling Country Day School and Linsly Military Institute before continuing his education at Salisbury School in Connecticut. He would attend Yale University and later the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School of Agriculture.

His professional life began as a farmer at his family farm in Ohio County but as his family grew, Weaver shifted his focus from agriculture to finance, launching a successful career in investments and wealth management.

He served as vice president of Bache & Co. before purchasing Wheeling-based financial firm Hazlett Burt & Watson in 1973, where he served for decades as president and chief executive officer. Under his leadership, the firm purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, a significant achievement for a company rooted in the Ohio Valley. In 2000, Weaver helped organize investors to establish Security National Trust Co., a nationally chartered trust.

“I admired George so much,” said U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp Jr. “My earliest recollection of us being together is at a fourth birthday party. We started school together, went to Linsly together in what was then the fourth grade — the only year they had a fourth grade at Linsly — and I watched him go on to become happily married to Shirley and to have such a beautiful family while building such an incredible career.

“He set such a great example for us — starting as a farmer at Virginia Hurst, his family farm, and then becoming chairman of Hazlett Burt & Watson and helping found Security National Trust. He was such a strong presence in our community. I will miss him.”

H. Scott Cunningham, chairman and CEO of Wheeling-based Security National Trust, recalled Weaver as being both a great businessman and a great family man.

“As a businessman, he was tough. He was no nonsense. … He grew the company from just Hazlett Burt & Watson to include Security National Trust, which he founded in 2000,” Cunningham said. “… George was so very faithful to his employees, providing them with a great career opportunity with the motto always being, ‘our role is to create wealth for our clients.’ And our clients have benefited greatly from that motto. George was true to his word.

“George the family man, he was absolutely devoted to his wife, Shirley. He was devoted to his four children. He was such a devoted husband and family man. So when you put this all together — devoted to his clients, his employees and, most importantly, his family … that’s a pretty strong legacy.”

Mark Prince, retired chairman and CEO of Hazlett Burt & Watson, said Weaver was one of the most respected financial minds in the state’s history.

“George’s decision to purchase Hazlett Burt & Watson in 1973, later founding Security National Trust Co. as a trust subsidiary, burnished his reputation as an iconic figure in the West Virginia finance and investment community,” Prince said. “He is respected statewide, and he will be sorely missed, but the legacy George leaves, his generosity to the community, and the careers and lives he touched, leave us with many fond memories.”

Outside of his business life, Weaver also was deeply involved in politics. He served a term in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1962 and remained active in politics for decades. He served as chair of the Ohio County Republican Executive Committee and also the Draft Goldwater campaign in 1964.

Beyond politics, his influence extended throughout the nonprofit and healthcare communities. He served as Ohio Valley Medical Center’s board president, chairman of Ohio Valley Health Services & Education Corp., president of Oglebay Institute and president of the Wheeling Society for Crippled Children.

He also served as a trustee of Sandscrest Foundation and Lawrencefield Parish Church and as a director of the House of Friendship and Wheeling Country Day School.

Weaver is survived by his wife of 71 years, Shirley, their four children, 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.