When Scott Weathers Rosenberg ’06 died in 2008, his mother, Ann Weathers, invited several of his Sidwell Friends classmates to a beach to spread his ashes and celebrate his life. In the years that followed, Weathers became like a second mother to many of them, inviting them to annual summer getaways and offering advice and wisdom to help them tackle life’s challenges. When Weathers passed away in 2017, they reconvened at that same beach to celebrate her life and her indomitable spirit.

First diagnosed with breast cancer at 39 years old, Weathers survived six bouts with the disease over a period of 27 years before finally succumbing while fighting her seventh bout. Who would have blamed her if she had lost hope or become frustrated by her ongoing battles with cancer and the premature loss of her young son? Yet “Ann never stopped fighting, never complained, never said, ‘Woe is me.’ She was always incredibly courageous,” according to her significant other, David Tenenbaum.

Weathers directed funds to Sidwell Friends through her estate plans, an extension of a gift she first made after Scott died to establish the Scott Weathers Rosenberg ’06 Theater. “The thing Ann loved about Sidwell Friends is that Scott thrived there,” Tenenbaum shared. “He did well and found his calling in the theater. John Elko took him under his wing: helping him, believing in him, encouraging him.” In providing the funds for the Scott Weathers Rosenberg ’06 Theater, Weathers hoped to create opportunities for future Sidwell Friends students to find the purpose and mentorship that Scott did.

Now, Ann Weathers’ bequest will augment programs offered in the theater named for her son. “The Scott Weathers Rosenberg ’06 Theater is a unique theatrical venue that offers young artists the chance to develop their acting skills in an intimate setting. The venue is ideal for the annual ‘One Act Festival,’ while the genre of the one- act play is particularly well-suited for emerging young actors at Sidwell Friends, who become fully immersed in the fictional world of the play because of its condensed format. The funds Ann Weathers bequeathed will ensure the ongoing use of the Scott Weathers Rosenberg ’06 Theater and the ‘One Act Festival’ by covering the expenses associated with this annual offering,” Assistant Head of School Min Kim said.

Like she herself did, Weathers’ initial gift and subsequent bequest celebrate life, particularly the exuberance, creativity, and freedom to be found in theater.

Weathers’ bequest creates opportunities for faculty to nurture students’ confidence and self-awareness—much in the way the School’s theater program did for her son, and just as Weathers did through her ongoing relationships with Scott’s Sidwell Friends classmates and so many others in her life.

To learn more about Ann Weathers’ legacy, visit the Elizabeth Ann Weathers Breast Cancer Research Fund at annweathersbcrf.org.