Jimmie Weeks, 64
Jimmie Weeks, 64, of Scotts Valley, Calif., died on Apr 17, 2012, of an apparent heart attack. He was born on October 1, 1947, in Thief River Falls, Minn., to Mary Lou (Hermanson) and Seymour James Mortrude II. The grandson of the late Clara Mortrude of Greenbush, Mn, he was christened Seymour James Mortrude III. His father died while he was a young boy.
Jimmie and his mother lived in Greenbush, Minn., until he was four years old. They moved to Leeds,N.D., and eventually Seattle, Wash. In Seattle, Mary Lou met and married Don Weeks, who adopted Jimmie. The family then moved to California.
Jimmie graduated from Westchester High School, Los Angeles, Calif., in 1965. He attended Santa Monica Community College and Cal State, in Los Angeles, where he excelled in golf. He was offered the opportunity to play professional golf but made the decision to serve his country first.
He was in the United States Army from 1969-1971 during which he served as a combat infantryman in the Vietnam War from October 11, 1969, to October 5, 1970. During his service he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal w/60 device, Vietnam Service Medal w/two bronze stars, Combat Infantry Badge, Army Commendation Medal w/Combat V and a Bronze Star w/Combat V.
After leaving the U.S. Army, Jimmy joined the Southern California golf tour. While playing golf one day he suffered the traumatic loss of one eye, which ended his professional golf career. He became a teaching pro and eventually designed a putter. He named the putter “SeeMore”, in honor of his deceased father, Seymour. His putter is used by several professional golfers on the PGA tour today and was used by two golfers in winning major championships; Payne Stewart in the 1999 US Open and Zach Johnson in the 2007 Masters.
Over the last 20 years Jimmie spent his summers in Minnesota golfing, fishing, visiting relatives and giving golf lessons to local golfers. He spent the rest of the year traveling to golf tournaments and living in California.
His father, Seymour James Mortrude II, preceded him in death. He is survived by his mother, Mary Lou Weeks, Scott Valley, Calif.; brother, Mark and sister-in-law, Kathy, Gilroy, Calif.; sister, Debbie Hammond, Los Gatos, Calif.; two nieces, Allison (Craig) Peters and Ashley; and step-niece, Courtney Hammond.
