Evelyn Wheeler

Evelyn Beers Wheeler, daughter of George and Mildred (Kopeska) Beers, was born October 15, 1917 in Audubon County, Iowa, where she grew up with her 4 sisters and went to school. On Saturday, March 28, 2015, Evelyn passed away after a brief illness at McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, Michigan, at 97 years, 5 months, and 13 days of age.

Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents and her two husbands, Duane Wheeler in 1964, and Ralph Wheeler in 1985.

On November 28, 1940, Evelyn married Duane Wheeler in Carroll, Iowa.  They lived on the Wheeler farm north of Coon Rapids in the Star Community until 1960 when they moved to Glidden, IA. After the death of Duane, Evelyn remarried Ralph Wheeler in 1970 in Golden, Colorado. They lived in Coon Rapids.  

Evelyn was employed at Glidden-Ralston School as a secretary and was an excellent seamstress.  She enjoyed knitting, sewing, gardening, cooking, baking, and quilting. In her lifetime she knit and donated hundreds of mittens to the children of Coon Rapids, Cheboygan, and Chicago. 

In Coon Rapids Evelyn was a long time member of the H & H club and the United Methodist Church.  She moved to Cheboygan, Michigan in 1999 to be near her son and family, and joined the St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women.

She is survived by her daughters Elizabeth “Betty” Wheeler of Chicago, IL and Deborah McClure of Cheboygan, MI; son James “Jim” Wheeler of Cheboygan, MI; three grandchildren Eric, Lauren, and Duane; two great-grandchildren Quintin and Hazyl Wheeler; four sisters Thelma (Arnold) Lykke of Jefferson, IA, Kathleen (Gene) Bostick of Des Moines, IA, Delores (R.L.) Bulls of Temple, TX and Eunice (Bob) Myers of Jefferson, IA, and special friends Elsie and Chuck Getz of Cheboygan, MI, as well as many loved nieces and nephews, and her wonderful friends and neighbors at Newport Village Senior Living in Cheboygan, MI.

Officiating at the Graveside Service: Reverend Joyce Webb, United Methodist Church, Coon Rapids.