At 75, Larry Weller wasn't your typical graduate student. "He wanted to know more and more and more about everything," recalled his older son, Jason Weller. Weller epitomized the concept of lifelong learning.

Now a fund established in his memory will help further the march of knowledge at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, where Weller completed a master's degree in public health in 2003 - 54 years after earning his first college degree, in physics. The mission of public health at KU School of Medicine - "preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health" is one that Weller came to embrace, and that his family is honored to support, working with KU Endowment.

A New Yorker by birth, Weller grew up during the Depression and worked as a youngster part time at the famed American Museum of Natural History in New York City, setting for the 2006 film comedy "Night at the Museum." In 1939, he attended the first sporting event ever televised in the United States - a college baseball game held at Baker Field at the very north end of Manhattan. As a neighborhood kid with no money, he snuck into the game. He later served in the U.S. Army Air Force at the end of World War II (the Air Force was not a separate service branch until September 1947), surveying and helping rebuild airfields across Europe that later played a role in the Berlin airlift. While in the military, he signed up for a GI special lifetime subscription to Reader's Digest. He read Reader's Digest every month for most of the next 70 years.

Weller started his career designing nuclear power plants, first for Foster Wheeler and later working on nuclear technology at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee and Mound Lab in Ohio. In the 1970s, he became involved in avionics and the space program and then moved to Wichita in 1980 to take a job with Boeing. His last major project there was as part of the team converting two 747s into the Air Force One planes that have carried Presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. "Dad did complex systems requirements and systems engineering work," Jason Weller said. "Air Force One had to be able to handle all kinds of unique situations, such as electromagnetic pulses and potential radiation issues, so there are all kinds of specialized gear in and on the aircraft."

Weller retired from Boeing in 1992 but never lost his appreciation for knowledge, working as an adjunct instructor teaching math at Kansas Newman University and Butler Community College into his late 70s. In addition to teaching, he audited numerous courses at Wichita State University and stayed active in organizations including the Association of Old Crows (for individuals with an interest in electronic warfare), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the West Point Society. He was fascinated by the American Revolutionary War, loved a good mystery novel and couldn't get over how much of American history took place in his lifetime.

"The thing about my dad was he was so big in supporting science, engineering, learning," Jason Weller said. "He mentored kids in Wichita who went on to do remarkable things around the country. He would seek out junior faculty and get to know them. He would seek out people in science and engineering at professional events and at WSU."

Weller had briefly worked for National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety in the 1970s. He later helped a friend on the psychiatry faculty at KUSM-Wichita with statistical analysis related to her research. Those experiences led him to apply to audit classes in the school's Preventive Medicine & Public Health Department. A professor of one of the courses he wanted to take - also personal friend - informed Weller that he could only do so if enrolled for credit.

So he enrolled as a part-time graduate student in public health, enjoying the challenge of keeping up with classmates young enough to be his grandchildren. For his practicum report, he analyzed the use of chronic prescription medication among a sample of schoolchildren in "a large Midwestern city" - Wichita. Much to Weller's delight, it was accepted for publication in The Journal of School Health. Weller graduated just before his 76th birthday. He talked with pride of his experiences as a Master of Public Health degree student and his completion of the program. He was fascinated by the good work that the faculty was undertaking and the opportunities to make a difference.

Weller never quenched his thirst for knowledge. One habit was jotting down words he didn't know and then looking them up later in the dictionary. Words and ideas were important to him.

Larry Weller died in 2013 after battling cancer. In his memory, and to support a cause that meant a great deal to him, a research fund has been established in public health at KU School of Medicine in Wichita.