Login | June 14, 2025
Family, colleagues remember Legal News reporter Richard Weiner
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: June 13, 2025
A celebration of life will be held on July 19 in Kent for Akron Legal News reporter Richard Lee Weiner.
Weiner, who was a regular contributor to the Legal News for approximately 20 years, including writing a weekly column called “Technology for Lawyers,” passed away unexpectedly at his Kent home on April 5. He was 73.
“Our former editor Richard Smith hired Richard Weiner to bring a more local feel to the paper,” said Akron Legal News Vice President and Publisher Bob Heffern. “He definitely accomplished the task, covering everything from politics and our local law school to sports and legal technology.
“We relied greatly on Richard and he had quite a following among a variety of readers,” said Heffern. “He brought good insights to the paper and developed a niche area with his Technology for Lawyers column. He will be missed.”
Weiner’s wife, Nancy, said her husband embraced life and never wasted a day.
“On weekends we would get in the car for a drive not knowing where we would end up. It was always about the adventure and excitement of an unknown place,” said Nancy, who serves as director of administration in the Title and Passport Division of the Office of Summit County Clerk of Courts Tavia Galonski.
“He was a loving and dedicated family man, writer, educator, scholar and musician. He went above and beyond for any individual who had the pleasure of meeting him, and the phrase ‘larger than life’ did not do him justice,” said Nancy.
“He will be missed greatly by his family, his peers and the many communities he enriched along his journey,” she said.
“Growing up in northeast Ohio in the ‘90s and early 2000s was the greatest gift I could have asked for,” said Weiner’s son, Elliot, communications and digital media manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire. “Dad showed me everything I know about being a great and fair competitor in sports, music and beyond.”
Born on June 8, 1951, in the city of Ashtabula, Ohio, he was the eldest of Robert and Rhoda (Swartz) Weiner’s three children.
After graduating from Harbor High School in 1969, he enrolled at The Ohio State University, but left before graduating, moving to New York City to become an actor.
During his years in New York, he appeared in a few off-off Broadway productions.
He also participated in community theater while attending Kent State University’s Ashtabula branch, starring in several productions.
Prior to earning his bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in 1981, he also studied at Arapahoe Community College in the greater Denver area.
In Colorado, Weiner got the chance to fulfill his lifelong dream of appearing in film, being cast as an extra in the 1976 movie “The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox,” which starred Goldie Hawn.
At Ohio University in Athens, his family said he took a course with the poet Allen Ginsberg.
After completing his undergraduate studies, Weiner earned his juris doctor from Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law in 1984.
While serving as a sole practitioner in Ashtabula County, he hired his wife Rosalie Nancy Smallwood to be his legal secretary.
The two had previously met through a mutual friend.
They were married on March 28, 1986 and had four children and three grandchildren.
Weiner also practiced in Cuyahoga County before leaving the profession in the early- to mid-90s to focus on becoming an educator.
Over the years, he was an instructor at a number of institutions including Bohecker College in Ravenna and Kent State University, where he was a part-time faculty member in the department of sociology beginning in the summer of 1997.
At the time the paralegal program was part of the sociology department and he taught some of the courses.
In an email, Amanda Paar Conroy, director of the paralegal studies program at Kent State, thanked Weiner for his work with students.
“While I did not know Richard personally, the paralegal studies department sincerely appreciates the time he spent teaching in the program. Preparing students to excel in the legal field is a noteworthy contribution to the profession.”
Weiner also taught in the justice studies department from 2006 to 2010.
He retired from Kent State University on Jan. 1, 2011.
In addition to teaching at universities, he was a substitute teacher at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent.
“Richard was a valued member of the Roosevelt community and we always appreciated having him with us,” said Theodore Roosevelt High School Principal Dennis Love. “I especially enjoyed our morning conversations. He genuinely loved being around the students and always brought a positive energy to the school. He did a wonderful job and will be truly missed by all of us here at Roosevelt.”
“Richard was such a kind man and always so easy to talk to,” said Seth Childers, a social studies teacher at the high school. “He was highly favored by our students, and they enjoyed hearing whenever he was coming into my classroom to substitute. He was a blessing to have in our lives!”
During his lengthy academic career, Weiner developed and taught courses in legal research and writing, legal ethics and domestic relations, among others. He was also the author of a legal writing textbook for paralegals published and used by West for its online paralegal course.
Weiner became a regular contributor to the Akron Legal News and its sister publications in Mahoning and Portage counties in 2004.
“Richard and I worked together for nearly 17 years. The fact that we won’t be exchanging emails on story assignments or having a chat when he’d pop by the office is still hard to reconcile. He and I got to know each other well over the years and shared a lot of the same views and ideologies,” said Legal News Editor Susan Gutierrez. “But as much as he was valued as a writer here at the paper he had so many other outside interests. I think spending time with his grandkids ranked highest on the list. He was an extremely devoted family man.“
“Richard had a great following,” said Akron Legal News General Manager Jason Croston. “Many people loved his tech column. He had a great way of connecting with people he interviewed. His legal background paired with his passion and experience in writing helped him excel in his position with us for many years.
“He will be truly missed by all of his loyal readers and all of us here at the Akron Legal News.
“I will miss our conversations about his love of music, food and the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Croston said.
Weiner was also a freelance writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Akron Beacon Journal, Crain’s Cleveland Business and various other online law and technology magazines.
While his weekly “Technology for Lawyers” column in the Legal News developed a large following that wasn’t the only place he utilized his expertise.
Weiner contributed to numerous FindLaw pieces that dealt with forming LLCs and various other topics, all of which were peer reviewed and published.
In all, he wrote for 43 years, including over 2 million words on technology law.
More recently Weiner became an AI trainer, content provider and website developer for law firms and other legal professionals.
Together with his son, Elliot, they created a website for Akron sole practitioner Kenneth C. Martin.
“Richard was a real Renaissance man,” said Martin, who became a friend of Weiner’s. “He had a grasp on law and technology that no one I’ve ever met could exceed. He also had a keen understanding of marketing and presentation.
“I was an avid reader of his columns, which is what led me to enlist him and his son to create my website,” said Martin. “To find someone as nimble in technology and the law as Richard is extraordinary because law is such a traditional field. How he acquired and was able to write about technology so proficiently required a skill set and talent beyond the norm.”
After Weiner and his son finished the website, Martin said he continued to meet with Weiner regularly in Kent to discuss law, technology and other subjects.
“I always walked away from our meetings with something useful,” said Martin. “Richard had so many different interests, including music, and to be able to talk with him and learn from him was a privilege.”
Elliot said he’s proud of his father’s wordsmith legacy and hopes to carry on the tradition.
“Dad was a phenomenal writer and when I found my profession in managing communications, he and I collaborated on many digital media projects including building websites, content creation and more,” said Elliot.
“It’s rare to find someone born in 1951 that can reference pop culture, sports, music, technology and more from throughout the decades and dad was able to connect all the generations with ease.”
Weiner played guitar for decades, co-founding the blues group R&D Duo with Doug Bender in 2017.
Their band played at area and state venues and festivals until 2023, including opening for a main act at Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland.
“I'll never forget how happy my dad was to play with my friends at the Beachland Ballroom,” said his daughter Rachel. “I'm forever grateful we grew up listening to good music.”
He also loved cooking, and had served as a short-order chef in quite a few locations.
His family describes him as a lifelong foodie and a great cook, who could often be found at Ray’s Place or the Franklin Square Deli in downtown Kent, where the owners knew him by name.
A sports fanatic, Weiner was an avid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins and Pirates and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Guardians and Browns along with The Ohio State Buckeyes.
As a writer, he got the opportunity to interview Hall of Fame NBA Coach Larry Brown about the Akron Wingfoots from the Goodyear Basketball League.
Outside of his career Weiner was a devoted Buddhist practitioner, who dedicated his life to cultivating mindfulness, compassion and wisdom.
He studied at Naropa University in Colorado. Weiner became a mindfulness coach in 1978, helping to open meditation centers in Akron and Cleveland and leading retreats across the country on mindfulness.
His family said his most cherished name was ‘Poppo,’ given to him by his first grandchild and oldest granddaughter, which he turned into his alias as he was introduced as Poppo on stage before guitar performances, on social media and in other places.
“My most cherished memory was when I was 4,” said his daughter Rebecca. “Dad went away on a business trip for the weekend. When he came back he had a tabby cat stuffed animal for me that he found in a parking lot. I still have it.
“This past summer my dad and I were able to go to Italy together,” said Rebecca. “It was his first time in Europe. For Father's Day and his birthday, we went to Southern France. He had a hard time moving around but he pushed through and we laughed a lot together. I'll never forget it.”
Weiner was very involved with his grandchildren; regularly making scrambled eggs with his youngest grandchild, taking his oldest grandchild to horse riding lessons and competitions and expressing great pride and excitement when his middle grandchild was in his fourth grade Lion King production.
Nancy said the couple enjoyed countless outings together, going to the Cleveland Museum of Art and frequently traveling to Ashtabula, Amish country, Lake Erie and Pittsburgh.
“Our favorite place was Ashtabula Harbor in Ashtabula County,” said Nancy. “We loved watching the sunsets on the beaches. Our time together was magical.
“We also spent many summers in Maine and New Hampshire.
“We shared a love story for 39 years,” she said. “He was my best friend.”
A journalism scholarship will be created in Weiner’s name at Lakeside High School in Ashtabula County.
Weiner is survived by his wife Nancy; daughters Rachel and Rebecca, both of Kent; son Elliot (Lindsey) of Durham, New Hampshire; granddaughters Makyla and Hazel of Kent and his grandson Fox of Durham, New Hampshire; sisters Randi Gormley (David) of Fairfield, Connecticut and Robin Northern (Benny) of Mentor; his aunt, Norma Berg (Howard) of Bangor, Maine and many nieces, nephews, cousins and in-laws.
He was preceded in death by his son Kevin David Stillwell Jr., who passed away in 2022.
The July 19 Celebration of Life will get underway at 6 p.m. at Events at Parkside at 6500 Lakeview Dr. in Kent. It will include an open mic night, with attendees encouraged to bring instruments and play tunes or recite poetry.