CHARLOTTE, NC - One of professional wrestling's all-time great "good guys," Johnny Weaver, passed away Friday, February 15, at his home in Charlotte.
 
Weaver, born November 17, 1935, in East Saint Louis, Illinois, was a favorite of wrestling fans during the heyday of the National Wrestling Alliance and Charlotte-based Jim Crockett Promotions. His wrestling career spanned more than four decades and included wrestling, matchmaking, broadcasting, and working in the front office. After the sale of Crockett Promotions to Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling in November 1987, Sheriff C.W. Kidd hired Weaver as a deputy with the Mecklenburg County (NC) Sheriff's Department, a position he held until his untimely death.
 
Affectionately known as "The Dean of Professional Wrestling," Weaver had recently accepted an invitation to be inducted into the NWA Wrestling Legends' "Hall of Heroes" this August in Charlotte. The dinner banquet and awards ceremony is part of the annual NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest featuring many of the heroes and villains from the golden days of wrestling. Weaver will be honored and inducted posthumously this August at the Charlotte reunion.
 
Weaver is survived by a daughter, Wendy, from Charlotte.
 
Funeral services will be held at 12 Noon Wednesday, February 20 at McEwen Funeral Home - Pineville Chapel. The family will receive friends from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday.