Burton E. Weed, 84, diner owner and firefighter

Burton E. Weed, 84, of Haddon Heights, longtime owner of the Club Diner in Bellmawr and a dedicated volunteer firefighter known to abandon the grill to fight fires in town, died of heart failure Sunday, May 16, at Kennedy University Hospital in Stratford.

After joining the Navy at 17 and almost dying when a Japanese kamikaze pilot bombed his ship, Mr. Weed was unafraid of fire or other possible dangers.

He belonged to two fire companies while owning the 24/7 diner and was constantly adding to his list of responsibilities while raising seven children and coaching Oaklyn Little League.

Mr. Weed was born and raised in Woodbury. He dropped out of high school there after his junior year to fight in World War II.

On Dec. 31, 1943, a month before his 18th birthday, Mr. Weed joined the Navy. He trained at a naval amphibious base in Fort Pierce, Fla., before shipping out on the USS LSM (R)-188, a rocket-launching landing ship.

In 1945, a kamikaze dive bomber struck the ship off the coast of Okinawa, killing more than a dozen men on board. The impact threw Mr. Weed 30 feet.

He took scrap metal to several parts of his body, including his back and head, his family said. He later was awarded a Purple Heart.

Mr. Weed was treated for his wounds and sent back to serve on the USS Burleson, which was involved with nuclear testing off Bikini Atoll. Until recently, Mr. Weed was tested for radiation at the VA Medical Center in Wilmington, his son Eric said. He never seemed to have any visible problems despite having handled dead, radiation-contaminated animals.

After his discharge in 1946, Mr. Weed returned to live with his parents, who had just opened a diner in Bellmawr. Later that year, he married Elizabeth McMichael, whom he had met at a party shortly before joining the Navy.

Mr. Weed worked at the Club Diner on Black Horse Pike for 54 years. He officially took over as owner in 1966 and sold the diner in 2000.

He arrived at 5:45 a.m. every day, worked behind the counter, and took care of anything that came up - except when the firehouse called.

"He'd be flipping eggs or making burgers, and the alarm would go off, and boom, he was gone," Eric Weed said.

For more than 20 years, Mr. Weed volunteered as a firefighter in Bellmawr. He often had to rush to a fire in Oaklyn, where his family lived for 24 years and where he also was a firefighter.

From 1966 to 1996, he coached Oaklyn Little League, starting when his sons played and continuing through his grandchildren's teams. At 70, Mr. Weed was still teaching children how to pitch, his son said.

In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Weed is survived by sons Lawrence and James; daughters Carolyn "Babe" Weed, Elizabeth "Jane" Davidson, Maryann "Mimi" Knox, and Nancy Di Gioia; 17 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and one sister.

A viewing will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 20, and from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, May 21, at Gardner Funeral Home in Runnemede. The funeral will follow at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Interment will be in New St. Mary's Cemetery in Bellmawr.