Michael Weissert never forgot his roots as a neighborhood drug store owner, which helps to explain what all those folks from Canonsburg and Upper St. Clair were doing this past year at the Costco warehouse in Cranberry.

"I always met these people and it always amazed me how they would say they followed him wherever he went," his son Sean Weissert said.

A pharmacist who began his career at Eagle Drug Store in Carnegie more than 30 years ago, Mr. Weissert went on to own a Medicine Shoppe in Canonsburg in 1986.

Mr. Weissert, 65, died Sunday at Mercy Hospital after suffering a stroke. He was a longtime resident of Upper St. Clair.

In 2001, he became a pharmacy manager for the Costco chain, helping it to open stores in Cranberry and Robinson.

"He always looked out for the patient's best interests. To him it was one of those things, a pharmacist was not a pill counter," his son said.

Mr. Weissert received his bachelor's degree in pharmacy from Duquesne University in 1975 and maintained friendships with those he called his "Sunset Friends," whom he worked with while in high school at the Sunset Pharmacy in Mt. Lebanon.

He is survived by his wife, Christy Viola Weissert, of Upper St. Clair; two sons, Sean, of Alaska, and Michael, of Japan; a brother, David, of Maryland; and a grandson, a niece and nephew.

Arrangements were handled by Beinhauers, 2828 Washington Road, Peters. Mass will be celebrated in St. Louise de Marillac Church in Upper St. Clair on July 4 at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Allegheny County Memorial Park.

Memorial donations can be made to Isa Marie Weissert Memorial Scholarship Fund, 23627 Willow Pond Road, Denton, MD 21629.