Thomas Junior Wheeler

COLUMBIA — The funeral service for Mr. Thomas Junior Wheeler, 72, of Columbia, will be held 2 o’clock, Sunday, June 28, 2009, at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Anne Christiansen officiating. Serving as pallbearers will be Jason, Bradley, and Joshua Sheppard, Gary, Alexander and Jonathan Todd. Interment will follow in Crescent Hill Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7 o’clock Saturday evening, at Shives Funeral Home, Colonial Chapel, 5202 Colonial Drive, Columbia. Memorials may be made to Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1323 Winyah Drive, Columbia, SC 29203 or to the Boys Farm, Inc., P.O. Box 713, Newberry, SC 29108.
 
Mr. Wheeler died Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Born in Person County, NC, on June 4, 1937, he was a son of the late Elmo T. and Lucile Ellis Wheeler. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Mr. Wheeler had worked with Edisto Farms Dairy, and retired as the grounds supervisor for the Dept. of Mental Health. He was a member of the North Columbia Optimist Club and Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, where he was a former member of the church council and property committee and was a member of the Lutheran Men’s Group. Thomas was an avid golfer, hunter and fisherman.
 
Survivors include his wife, Edna Sheppard Wheeler of Columbia; sons, Maj. Michael W. (Racheal) Wheeler of Hampton, SC, and Jason T. Wheeler of Columbia; grandchildren, Michael Thomas and Emily Kathryn Wheeler; sisters, Tiney Watson of Rougemont, NC, Bonnie (Wendell) Hill of Greenville, SC; brother, Eugene (Nita) Wheeler of Kentucky; as well as a number of cousins, nieces, and nephews. In addition to his parents, Mr. Wheeler was preceded in death by his brother, Thelbert Wheeler and his uncle Lee and aunt Thelma Oakley.
 
The family wishes to extend a special thank you to Dr. Eddie Williams III for his loving and skillful care.
 
www.ShivesFuneralHome.com
 
(803) 754-6290