Saul Weiss: Farmer, Athlete, Scholar, Businessman, Giver

Part III (Donna Weiss and Friends to the Community)

During the ‘70s, while Saul attended classes at Boston University, he was still required and willing to do his morning farmwork before he went off to class. After graduation, he began selling calculators for General Business Machines in addition to continuing his work at the farm. Saul was a great salesman. His presence and personality disarmed people. He had a warm smile, making people feel comfortable. Saul seemed to win many of the contests offered by GBM and was consistently at the top of the sales lists.

He correctly anticipated the declining novelty of calculators; they were more readily available in many stores such as Radio Shack rather than through a salesman. He switched over to selling and then distributing cash registers for Tokyo Electric Company (TEC). He delivered the registers and stored them in the loft of the barn.

Donna Burt met Saul in the summer of 1971. She had reluctantly gone “clubbing” with a few girlfriends in Brighton at a club somewhere on Commonwealth Avenue. One of her friends began talking to Saul, who turned to Donna and soon established that they both loved baseball. She had grown up on the same street in West Medford as Bill Monbouquette, the best Red Sox pitcher in the early ‘60s. Saul and Donna left the club and wandered around the streets for an hour, talking about baseball stuff. That was the beginning.

Saul, though, was stubborn (no surprise there!) and a long courtship followed, so long that she finally gave him an ultimatum (they had already gone the hope chest and diamond route); either they get married or break up. Saul saw the light and protested that he was going to ask her the next day, Donna’s birthday. She laughed when she told me this; was he actually going to do that? She couldn’t swear to that but they did get married in July of 1979. Donna moved into the farmhouse where Phil and Anne made her feel accepted and comfortable. By then Weiss Farm had changed the business plan from dairy to boarding horses and selling mulch. Phil stated that the farm was no longer “economically feasible” as a dairy business.

Donna emphasized Saul’s dedication to the farm and his work ethic. He worked hard his whole life. Additionally, for Saul and Donna, his competitive nature was an asset. Not only did he sell more than anyone else, but he won numerous trips overseas, such as Japan and Spain. Donna remembers the trip to Japan as the most memorable. Despite using electric machines that could generate invoices and statements, Saul wrote them all out by hand. He did not want her to do any of the work involved with his sales job.

Saul’s mother, Anne, passed away in 1982 and when Philip died merely two years later, Saul became the sole proprietor of the farm. He continued the cash register business while maintaining the farm business. Saul and Donna went to the next level with their baseball connection, buying Red Sox season tickets when they realized they had been going to so many games that it made economic sense to buy season tickets. They attended many BU hockey games as well as Bruins games. They began sponsoring Stoneham Little League teams, a practice that continues to this day.

Donna recounted a story about the trip to Spain that astonished her. TEC America brought a group of their top salespeople to Spain, with organized activities and sightseeing opportunities. One such activity involved a challenge that involved a donkey when they visited a bullfighting ring. The challenge was to hop on the donkey like a Western cowboy. Saul readily accepted the challenge. Saul was not a small person—hey, he was a hockey goalie and a catcher in baseball. Neither position called for skinny or timid candidates. He easily vaulted onto the back of the donkey, belying his bulk. She described the feat with a still amused chuckle.

On two other trips (one to Switzerland, the second to Brazil), Saul and Donna persuaded Dave and Denise Commito along as guests. Again, there was no reaching for the wallet; all expenses were paid for. Saul and Donna’s generosity was at work again.

But fate broke Saul’s stride when he passed away far too soon on July 4, 2000. One of his classmates and close friends, Larry Rotondi wrote a heartfelt eulogy, published in the Independent. Larry stated that “Saul always gave one hundred and ten percent to everything he did and, although his accomplishments were many, he labored diligently in every endeavor he undertook…” Saul knew about hard times and Larry goes on to say that “he was always ready to help others and was financially supportive of countless charitable organizations—all behind the scenes.” (SI, pg. 1, 6, 7/12/2000)

Of particular note is Donna Weiss’s continued involvement in the community and her contributions to the town’s athletic programs and the students of SHS. Their involvement with Stoneham sports was acknowledged in 2005 when they were awarded a spot in the Stoneham Athletic Hall of Fame. Saul’s BU affiliation was also commemorated when Donna made another contribution to the BU hockey program. A separate locker room became the Saul Weiss Room.
Donna donated $210,000 for the restoration of the Stoneham High School varsity and junior varsity softball fields, a practice football field, and a varsity field hockey field. This was the largest private donation ever made to the School Department.

She has continued to contribute money for a variety of scholarships. The Philip Weiss Scholarship (2001-9), The Saul Weiss Memorial Scholarship (ongoing), and The Weiss Farm Family Scholarship (ongoing) have been awarded to deserving college-bound Stoneham High School seniors. In a fundraiser for the Stone Zoo, she lent her presence (along with Mary Ruggles, wife of Sandy, and 698 others) to help raise $60,000. Donna generously made donations both in Saul’s name and in the name of Weiss Farm to the restoration project of the Albert J. Duff, Jr. Memorial Park at Central School in 2022 as well as serving on the Board of the Stoneham Historical Society & Museum. She has graciously continued the century-old practice of making contributions to Stoneham as first practiced by Saul’s grandfather, Samuel Weiss. I am particularly grateful for the unflaggingly positive, unheralded presence of the Weiss family in the Town of Stoneham.