Jules Timerman, 82; founded Weavers Way co-op

Jules Timerman, 82, a visionary who founded Weavers Way in Mount Airy, the most thriving neighborhood food cooperative in Philadelphia, died of heart failure Thursday at his West Mount Airy home.

Mr. Timerman grew up working in a small grocery store owned by his Russian immigrant father in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia. After graduating in 1943 from Central High School, he served Stateside in the Army until the end of World War II. He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology on the GI Bill from Temple University, and worked for more than a decade as a computer programmer for Honeywell and the Insurance Co. of North America.

He married Kit Fletcher in 1957 and the couple raised two children on Carpenter Lane in West Mount Airy.

In the late 1960s, Mr. Timerman quit his computer job, took stock of his dreams, and tried to figure out how to live a more meaningful life. For several lean years, he drove a cab and a truck, sold Winesap apples from the front porch of his home, and worked at the food club at nearby Summit Church.

"When we told our father that kids were stealing apples from our porch," said daughter Andrea Dominic, "he said, 'If they need the apples that badly, they can keep them.' "

In 1973, Mr. Timerman bought Sid's Deli at 557 Carpenter Lane with the idea of starting a food cooperative for neighbors. He and his children went door-to-door and persuaded 132 neighbors to invest $10 in a co-op that would sell quality merchandise at reasonable prices.

Soon, the cramped Weavers Way opened three days a week. Mr. Timerman quickly expanded to 559 Carpenter Lane and increased the inventory and hours. Each family member over the age of 16 was required to work six hours a year at Weavers Way.

Weavers Way went on to change a neighborhood, serving as a drawing card for free spirits and progressive thinkers attracted to its anti-establishment atmosphere. It became a community meeting place for people of different ethnicities, politics, income and occupations.

In the mid-1970s, Mr. Timerman and the board of directors had a difference of opinion, and he left. However, Weavers Way still carries on Mr. Timerman's dream.

Today, Weavers Way is made up of members from 3,300 households and occupies 2,100 square feet.

Shortly after leaving Weavers Way, Mr. Timerman carried on the same alternative-purchasing philosophy when he founded Food With TLC on Bethlehem Pike in suburban Erdenheim. He toiled at that store until his health began to fail, and he closed it in 1995. TLC was not exactly a natural-foods store. Mr. Timerman called it a semi-natural-foods store. "Or the inconvenience store that saves you money," he said in a 1991 Inquirer story.

Mr. Timerman studied monthly catalogs put out by food wholesalers listing specials. He bought in bulk and passed the savings on to his TLC customers. But TLC was not a cut-rate discount store. The wares were purchased as much for quality as price.

Any hurt feelings between Weavers Way members and Mr. Timerman healed. In 2003, on the 30th anniversary, members honored Mr. Timerman's commitment that started it all.

"My father considered himself a steward of the earth," said his daughter. "He was the most honest person I have ever known."

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Timerman is survived by a son, Alec, and a grandson.

Services were private.