Dr. Mitchell Weiss, a 1983 graduate of Cheltenham High School, and his wife, Dr. Leslie Levin, a 1985 graduate of Abington Senior High School, passed away seven years ago on New Year’s Eve.

The Weiss family vacationed in Costa Rica and took a puddle jumper plane from a small island to a larger island so they could fly home on January 1.

The plane crashed, claiming the lives of Mitchell, 52, Leslie, 50, and their children Hannah, 19, and Ari, 16. Hannah was studying at Columbia University and Ari was a sophomore at Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Pete. 

According to local historian Chuck Langerman, Dr. Weiss, who graduated third in his class, was an accomplished scholar-athlete during his high school years. He excelled on the 1983 District One champion CHS boys’ gymnastics team and earned the Holden Award for exhibiting outstanding qualities of leadership, character, and athletic ability.

After his Cheltenham days, Dr. Weiss went on to Princeton University, then Thomas Jefferson Medical School where he met Leslie.

The Weiss family settled in the Clearwater, Florida area where Dr. Weiss, an interventional radiologist, and Leslie, a pediatrician, both worked at Morton Plant Hospital.

For ABC’s 2018 coverage of the crash, you can click here.

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