Sam Weller's fiery personality, the one that caused friends to know instantly whether the bookseller was working in his beloved store, was noticeably absent Wednesday as customers quietly flipped through the pages of magazines and pulp fiction stories.
Weller, a Main Street icon for nearly 60 years, died overnight Tuesday at the age of 88.
"Sam was one of the last great bookmen," said Ken Sanders, a fellow bookseller who worked for Weller in the 1960s and 1970s.
A German immigrant, Weller came to the United States after World War I and moved to Salt Lake City four years later. He began working for his father, Gustav, sweeping floors in the family-owned Zion Bookstore when the shop opened in 1929.
Sam Weller's father developed a dust allergy and left the store to his sons a decade later. After returning from World War II, Sam Weller took over sole ownership in 1946.
"He's built an amazing bookstore with an international reputation," said Catherine Weller, who busied herself by arranging a black-and-white memorial to her father-in-law in the store's front window Wednesday evening.
Sam Weller met his wife, Lila, in his own bookstore in 1949, and the couple married in 1953.
In 1961, the store moved to its present location at 254 S. Main.
Sam Weller joked he was the mayor of Main Street because he had been there so long.
After losing his eyesight, Sam Weller passed the business to his son, Tony, in 1997.
"That was the only thing that could have happened to keep him from working," Catherine Weller said.
At the store, Sam Weller made employees feel like family.
"If he hired you, he adopted you," she said. "He has hundreds of friends. He was really good with people — he made them feel good."
Betsy Burton, who owns the King's English Bookstore, said Sam Weller gave her — and most other booksellers in the city — a start in the business.
And the man had a knack for connecting readers with the right books, she said.
"Every time a bookseller puts a book that's a good match in somebody's hand, there's a possibility for changing a life," Burton said. "And Sam put hundreds of thousands of books into readers' hands. … The exponential effect is huge."
The mood at the Main Street store was subdued Wednesday after employees were told of Sam Weller's death during a pre-opening meeting.
"We're still a little bit in shock. I talked with him on an almost daily basis," said events coordinator John Clukey, who also manages the store's used-book section. "Even though he was supposed to be retired, Sam was still very much involved in things, and he was still very passionate about books."
Sam Weller is survived by his wife, Lila; his son, Tony, and daughter-in-law Catherine; granddaughter Lila Ann; and five sisters. He was preceded in death by three bothers and two sisters.
Memorial services are pending.
Contributing: Jeff Vice and Aaron Falk. E-MAIL: jnicholls@desnews.com