ASHER WHEELER

1919 - 2019

WHEELER Asher Louis Wheeler Asher Louis (Al) Wheeler, an attorney, hotelier and real estate investor/developer, died peacefully at his home on July 24, 2019. Mr. Wheeler, a native of Atlanta, Georgia was born on July 8, 1919. In 1944, he moved to the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC where he settled and lived the remainder of his days with his beloved wife, Naoma. Mr. Wheeler is survived by two of his three children, Anita Wheeler and James Wheeler, as well as four grandchildren. Mr. Wheeler attended the University of Georgia where he graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He then continued his education at Harvard Law School where he earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1944, Mr. Wheeler was admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia and State of Georgia. Thereafter, he selected air transportation law as his area of specialty, and joined the staff of Transcontinental and West ern Airlines. In 1950, Mr. Wheeler left TWA and joined the transportation law firm of Roberts & McInnis, later to become GeneralCounsel for North Central Airlines. In 1960, Mr. Wheeler went into the private practice of law in the District of Columbia for a select group of transportation centric clients. In 1958, Mr. Wheeler began a second career as a real estate investor and developer. Over the following thirty years, Mr. Wheeler developed and constructed several town-house and single family communities in the Georgetown, Foxhall, Kent and Foggy Bottom neighborhoods of Northwest, Washington, DC. Mr. Wheeler renovated and owned several retail and mixed use buildings in Georgetown and also built and operated the Georgetown Marbury House Hotel and the Hotel Monticello of Georgetown. Mr. Wheeler was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Blue Key, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Gridiron Club of Georgia, the Oldest Inhabitants of Washington, the Newcomen Society and the Kiwanis Club of Georgetown. Mr. Wheeler was a lifelong Democrat, serving as Chairman of the District of Columbia Democratic Central Committee from 1948 to1960 and representing the District of Columbia as a delegate to the National Democratic Conventions of 1948, 1952, and 1956. In 1949, Mr. Wheeler was retained as clerk and Chief Counsel for the District of Columbia Committee of the United States Senate and was responsible for drafting the DC Home Rule legislation, which passed the US Senate and thereafter became the basis for the District of Columbia's self government. Mr. Wheeler served as a citizens' member of the District of Columbia Tax Revision Commission In 2010, the District of Columbia City Council awarded Mr. Wheeler a Distinguished Citizen Citation for his numerous contributions to the betterment of life in the District of Columbia, and named March 2, 2010 as "Al Wheeler Day." Private services at a later date.Mr. Wheeler was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Blue Key, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Gridiron Club of Georgia, the Oldest Inhabitants of Washington, the Newcomen Society and the Kiwanis Club of Georgetown. Mr. Wheeler was a lifelong Democrat, serving as Chairman of the District of Columbia Democratic Central Committee from 1948 to1960 and representing the District of Columbia as a delegate to the National Democratic Conventions of 1948, 1952, and 1956. In 1949, Mr. Wheeler was retained as clerk and Chief Counsel for the District of Columbia Committee of the United States Senate and was responsible for drafting the DC Home Rule legislation, which passed the US Senate and thereafter became the basis for the District of Columbia's self government. Mr. Wheeler served as a citizens' member of the District of Columbia Tax Revision Commission In 2010, the District of Columbia City Council awarded Mr. Wheeler a Distinguished Citizen Citation for his numerous contributions to the betterment of life in the District of Columbia, and named March 2, 2010 as "Al Wheeler Day." Private services at a later date.