Robert Owen Wheelan Sr.

Nov. 24, 1929 - May 23, 2008

'Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the Children of God.'

Family was everything to this wonderful man, Robert Owen Wheelan Sr., who passed away in his home on Friday after a long illness. He was surrounded by his loving family in their beloved 'Family Room, which Bob designed and built. Bob was born Nov. 24, 1929 in Pueblo, Colorado to John and Clara Wheelan. He was the youngest of three children. In 1937 his family moved to Vallejo when his father started work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. It was while he attended school at St. Vincent's School that he met his future wife, Patricia Rardin. Bob started his apprenticeship at Mare Island in 1948 and enlisted in the Naval Reserves in 1949. In 1950 he and Pat were married in a double wedding ceremony with his brother Jack and Pat's sister Joan.

In 1955, Bob and Pat with children Robert Jr., Kathleen, and Anne moved to Napa along with his brother Jack and his family. The family grew through the years with the addition of Timothy and Susan. His career advanced at Mare Island after many years of night school when he entered into the engineering department. In 1963 he became one of the first members of the original Ocean Engineering Branch. He worked on numerous projects and traveled around the world as a Project Engineer working on Deep Submergence Systems. He was especially proud of his work on the design team for the Trieste, U.S.S. Grayback, U.S.S. Halibut and many others. Bob retired from Mare Island in 1984 as an Engineering Supervisor and began work at Sperry Rand (Unisys). He retired a second time in 1994 to enjoy fishing and his wife Pat and the family. He also enjoyed making trips to Reno with Pat, Jack and Joan. Bob was also an avid duck hunter with his brother, Jack and their sons. He always found time to take his family on many excursions to the lakes and mountains. He was know as a 'jack of all trades' and could build or repair or take on any project placed before him. In addition to building the family room, he also built an upstairs with 3 more bedrooms so that each of his children could have their own room.

No words can express how we will miss his smile and sense of humor. How we cherished his generosity, his open arms at any hour and his undying love. How he sang - and how he loved us all and lived life to the fullest. Family was everything to him and the world just got a lot smaller without his presence.

He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Patricia, and their five devoted children: Robert Wheelan Jr. of Napa; Kathy Gunn of Chico (Ron), Anne Branson of Napa (Rick), Tim Wheelan of Napa (Marcella) and Susan Grant of Napa (Wayne). He is also survived by his brother John (Jack) Wheelan Jr. and his wife and sister of Pat, Joan, of Napa. He had eight grandchildren: Danielle Wheelan, Sara Simmons, Jessica Borer, Oliver Gunn, Peter Wheelan, Martha Wheelan, Vincent Gunn, Allen Wheelan - and 4 great grandchildren: Cody, Owen, Jacob and Griffin. He has many nieces, nephews and friends far too numerous to mention and yet who also loved him so.

He was predeceased by his parents John Wheelan Sr. and Clara Wheelan and by his sister Dolores Jones.

A Rosary will be held for Bob at Claffey and Rota Funeral Home, Napa, on Wednesday, May 28 at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Thursday, May 29, at 10 a.m. at St. John's Catholic Church, Napa, and officiated by his nephew, Father Mark Wheelan. Burial will be private.

The family requests that donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Sunnyvale, CA. (michaelfox.org.)