2006
William Paul Weschler Sr., 80, the third-generation owner and operator of Weschler's Auctioneers and Appraisers, died of complications
from a stroke Sept. 20 at Coastal Hospice at the Lake in Salisbury, Md.
Mr. Weschler worked at the business, a Washington institution that has been in his family since 1890, his entire career. He started working
at the building at Ninth and E streets NW in 1946, after returning from World War II, and with his brothers Ralph (who died in 1982) and
Benjamin (who died in 1993), took over the business from their father Ralph upon his death in 1966. It's now in the hands of the fourth and
fifth generations.
The house, originally known as Adam A. Weschler & Son, has auctioned the household of Spanish-American War hero Adm. George
Dewey, the confiscated contents of the Iranian Embassy, unwanted objects from the Baltimore Museum of Art, an entire circus, a
Washington firehouse, furniture from the office of former House speaker Sam Rayburn and much more.
Mr. Weschler was born in Washington, graduated from St. John's College High School and served in the Coast Guard during World War II.
After the war, he returned to the family business and worked there steadily until 1991, when he retired and moved to Fort Myers, Fla. He was
a former resident of Washington and had a home on the Eastern Shore.
He was a senior member of the American Society of Appraisers and former president of the Reciprocity Club of Bethesda. He also enjoyed
golf and was a fan of the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Redskins.
His first wife, Janet D. Weschler, died in 1981.
Survivors include his wife, Esther G. Weschler of Fort Myers; six children from his first marriage, Janet Marie Lytle of Sarasota, Fla., Mary
Lisa Magliaro of Olney, William P. Weschler Jr. of Silver Spring, James T. Weschler of Chesapeake, Va., John S. Weschler of Olney and
Joseph P. Weschler of Kensington; three stepchildren, Roxanne H. Robinson of Allentown, N.J., Kim P. Stoddart of Grosse Ile, Mich., and
James A. Robinson of Mercerville, N.J.; 21 grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.