C. V. Weddle, 85, dies

Nov. 22—C.V. Weddle, local entrepreneur and farmer, has passed on — leaving behind a large family who remember him as young at heart and well-liked by everyone who knew him.

Known by many names throughout his life, Weddle preferred to go by C.V. later in life, but was known as Junior or J.R. at other times.

Remembered by all his survivors as a hard worker, longtime friend Judge John Prather knew Weddle since their days in high school. Prather said Weddle simply couldn't imagine a life without hard work.

"He didn't understand why somebody wouldn't work hard," said Prather. "If there's anything he didn't understand it was somebody who was bone lazy... there wasn't an excuse for having a day where you wanted to be lazy. That wasn't his nature."

While a good characteristic for those who worked with him, his children growing up didn't always understand his work ethic.

"I didn't appreciate what he was building, because my friends were out water skiing, or playing tennis, or having fun, and every afternoon I had chores on the farm," said Weddle's son Dave Smith. "But that built a very good work ethic for me, and I told him that actually last weekend, and that was the last time I visited with him and saw him alive."

Smith was relieved he got to share this with his father and tries to emulate the man's diligence.

"He was a man's man. He didn't cry," said Smith. "He was honest about his prognosis. [At the end] he cried. I cried. And I told him I loved him, and I told him he was in God's great care, and those were the last words I said to him. And I believe that."

Smith felt Weddle always took "calculated risks," which is a must-have trait for good businessmen. He characterized Weddle's acquisition of his landfill as something he more-or-less "fell into" thanks to his willingness to take big swings in the business world.

Already industrious, C. V. Weddle hated going to school as a child he would often skip to work on the farm. When he got caught playing hooky for the last time, the school worked out an agreement where so long as he kept the school's fire stoked, they would pay him a nickel a day. From then on, he went to school so he could build and tend to the fire every day.

Throughout his life, he was called an innovator and was one of the first farmers in Kentucky to subscribe to the no-till farming method which was better for the environment than contemporary methods and also led to healthier soil and a greater output.

His daughter Kim Weddle who worked for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for more than two decades is now retired. She said her father told her when she was very young to begin investing in retirement as soon as she could.

"I thought he was ridiculous," she said.

But time proved him right, and Ms. Weddle called his advice now "super beneficial."

Ms. Weddle said that even as her father's body failed him, he remained sharp.

"[He had] one of the strongest memories of anybody that I know," she said. "He could tell vivid stories of when he was little and I was little. Funny things about the family growing up. Funny things that he and his friends did. What kind of cars his friends had. When they we would drag race down the street and which one of them won. He never forgot a thing."

"There were always things I was hoping he would forget about, but he never did," Ms. Weddle added with a laugh.

He kept many crops and critters including tobacco, corn, soybeans, dairy, beef, and hogs. The crop that was the most memorable was the acres of sweet strawberries which he loved to invite people over to pick.

"I would say what he was most proud of when it came to his business and making a living, I think it's just good old farming," said Ms. Weddle. "You know what they say. You need a doctor once a year, but you need a farmer three times a day."

C. V. Weddle was well-travelled. An avid outdoorsman, he split his time between Kentucky and Florida at the end of his life for golf and fishing. He saw almost every corner of the United States, and his travels took him as far as Nova Scotia.

Judge Prather recalled Weddle's trip to Alaska.

"[He and his wife] went up in a motor home, and one day he called my wife," said Prather.

Weddle told Prather's wife that he was going to flash freeze the salmon he had caught there and that it was her job to disseminate the fish to those in the community.

"The next day, she got a styrofoam box about the size of a small casket," said Prather. "They had 80 pounds of king salmon."

After distributing the fish, Prather's wife then asked Weddle what she should do with the rest of the salmon.

"Keep it, of course," was Weddle's response. Prather laughed about how he and his wife ate on the salmon for the next several days.

Weddle loved cars and kept them restored and in pristine condition. His pride and joy was his '58 Chevrolet Impala. This was the first make he ever drove, and his daughter recalled him cruising up and down Highway 27 in it when he finally got his hand on another one.

To Ms. Weddle, her father's best qualities were his patience and tenderness. Ms. Weddle said that when her father would write to her, he would always say "to my little girl" even as she approached her 60's.

She said her father's favorite thing to do was watch his great grandkids play on his farm. Her brother echoed this sentiment.

"What he wanted to be remembered for... he loved it that his grandkids wanted to come to his house," said Smith.

He laughed at Ms. Weddle's statement of their father's patience.

"He wasn't patient with us, but he was patient with his grandkids," Smith said.

Prather concurred, "He took care of his family... just an all-around good guy... He was one of those people that you genuinely enjoyed liking."

The family will receive friends on Saturday, November 26, 3:00 — 7:00 pm at Beacon Hill Baptist Church in Somerset, and after 1:00 PM Sunday, November 27, 2022 until time for services. A funeral service for C.V. will be held on Sunday, November 27, 2:00 pm at Beacon Hill Baptist Church followed by the internment of his ashes in the crypt of his late wife at the Science Hill Cemetery. The officiant for C.V.'s funeral and internment of ashes will be Rev. Sam Crawford, who provided pastoral care to him during his illness and is beloved by the Weddle family.

Memorial gifts may be sent to The Future Farmers of America c/o Pulaski Co. High School — 511 E. University Dr. Somerset, Kentucky 42501 or to Hospice of Lake Cumberland — 100 Parkway Dr. Somerset, Kentucky 42503.