Wayne Weaver lived in Palatine Bridge, nearly 20 miles away from his long-tenured role at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department.
During a snowstorm last year, the seasoned emergency dispatcher bought a hotel room for himself close to work. It was non-reimbursable.
“He didn’t want to force the other shift to have to cover for him if he couldn’t make the drive,” said Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino. “That’s the kind of person he was.”
Weaver’s wife, Robin, will receive a county proclamation honoring the late first responder’s decades-long career on April 30 at the 9-11 center — two months after his death. Weaver was 58 years old.
Weaver’s death was a surprise for Communications Director Keith Shults. By the time he left the sheriff’s office for the day on Feb. 15, he seemed fine, Shults said.
“He said, ‘Hey, see you next week!’ ” Shults said. “Nobody thought anything about it.”
Dispatchers days later overheard radio reports of Weaver suffering a heart attack. He was rushed to Little Falls Hospital, where he died.
Weaver was two weeks away from retirement. He was one of the department’s first hires when the county integrated communication systems in the early 1990s.
The center, one of the first countywide dispatch systems in the state, handles 200,000 calls. Workers each day correspond with EMS, fire and law enforcement agencies.
Four dispatchers are on per shift in Fulton County, about half of whom were trained by Weaver. The job, Giardino said, doesn’t receive enough recognition.
“His loss is a good time to remind people that the call for help doesn’t start with the police officer,” the sheriff said. “The call for help starts with the 9-11 Center to dispatch who we need to dispatch.”
Weaver enjoyed joking around his co-workers. During high-stakes circumstances, he was known for assuaging callers.
“He had virtually every call from a child passing away to a multi-car accident to a house fire, and he had the perfect disposition for keeping calm so that the people on the other line would also be calm,” Giardino said.
“If he got a little worked up, you knew it was something big,” Shults added.
Before joining ranks in 1994, the Oppenheim-Ephratah Central School and Mohawk Valley Community College graduate served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. From 1985 to 1988, he was on active duty in Syracuse, winning three awards along the way.
Much of his time outside of work was based in the western half of the Fulmont region. The former Dolgeville resident served as a member of the Elks Lodge in Nelliston and the Loyal Order of the Moose in Canajoharie.
He previously served as chief of Hilltop Volunteer Fire Department in Oppenheim. Much of his family has been involved with the rural agency, including his mother, Betty, who died three months before him.
Weaver’s roots run deep in the area, but his family has spread beyond state lines. His son, Jabin, ended up leaving the greater Capital Region to work as a baseball coach at Villanova University in 2019. Weaver was proud of him.
“He didn’t take a ton of vacation time, but he loved to spend time with his one son, and his daughter-in-law and grandson,” Giardino said.