“The west is not a place,” Weil liked to say, “it’s a state of mind.” The founder and CEO of Rockmount Ranch Wear in Denver, Colo., Weil created the “Western” shirt: with a trim fit and snaps instead of buttons (“safer for a rider on a horse,” he explained), and a “western” cut to the cloth and pocket flaps.
When Hollywood adopted the style (from 1950s westerns to Urban Cowboy to Brokeback Mountain), the style spread worldwide. Weil didn’t mind who bought the shirts, as long as they bought them. “There’s no Westerner like an Easterner,” he’d laugh.
Weil loved his job, and never retired; he was thought to be the oldest active CEO in America. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, a long-time friend, said Weil’s success was based on his life principles: “What matters is not who you are, but what your dreams are and how hard you’re willing to work for your dreams.”
Rockmount is still in the same building where Weil founded it in 1946; it’s now run by his grandson. “Papa Jack” Weil died at home on August 13 — at 107 years old.