David Wheeler

Dr. David Martyn Wheeler of Hot Springs, Arkansas, formerly of Baltimore, Maryland passed away on May 16, 2025. Dr. Wheeler was born August 13, 1953 in Philadelphia, PA but grew up in Baltimore after his family moved there. In Baltimore he graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in 1971 and then attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina from 1971 until 1981 where he earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering and an MD-PhD degree. In 1976 David married Patricia Sellers and they enjoyed 48 happy years together. Following medical school, the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama where he did a 4-year residency in Anesthesiology at the UAB hospital. In 1985 he returned to Baltimore where he worked in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins hospital for 6 years, earning the Outstanding Teacher Award in 1989 for his work training resident physicians. Receiving that award was one of the highlights of his career. In 1991 David left academic medicine and spent the rest of his career in private practice first at Laurel Regional Hospital in Laurel, Maryland and then at St Joseph's Hospital in Towson, Maryland. He retired in 2017 and he and Patty moved to Hot Springs in 2019. Outside of work Dr. Wheeler's interests included church, family, and hiking. David had a deep and abiding faith in Jesus and lived his life as a wonderful example of Galatians 5:13, "serve one another humbly in love."

He was predeceased by his parents, Arthur and Margaret Wheeler, and his grandson Isaac Wheeler. He is survived by his loving wife Patricia "Patty" Wheeler; daughter Rachel Craft (Jonathan), and sons Paul (Jennifer), Philip (Rachel Martin), and Stephen (Austin Nelson); grandchildren Jeremy Craft, Rebecca Craft, Lydia Craft, and Emily Wheeler; brother Grant Wheeler (Dawn); sister Susan Fay (Jim); five nephews, one niece, and a host of in-laws. Services will be held at Hope Presbyterian Church in Hot Springs later this summer.