El Cerrito Death Notice: John Wheeler

John Thomas Wheeler, a longtime resident of El Cerrito and Kensington, died on October 21, 2013 at Salem Lutheran Home in Oakland.  He was 92 years old. John was born in 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the son of Beech Wheeler and Iris Jaynes Wheeler. He received his BA in Business Adminstration from the University of Minnesota. He then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his PhD in 1947. On June 14 of the same year, he married Beatrice, who had typed his dissertation. They returned to Minnesota, where John was a professor at the University. There he co-authored a book with Andreas Papandreo  ( Competition and its Regulation 1952). Bea and John had three children: Ginny, James, and Mary. In 1954, the family moved to Kensington, California, where John was a professor of Business Administration at the University. A son, Robert, was born there in 1961. The family moved to El Cerrito in 1967. While at the University, John served as an associate dean in the School of Business Administration, and as director of summer sessions. He retired from the university in 1991, to work and relax in his beloved El Cerrito garden, filled with pine trees and rhododendrons and to spend more time with Bea. They would take a walk every morning around their neighborhood.

John leaves behind his wife of 67 years, his four children, 3 grandchildren and 4 great grandsons. He was a devoted father and husband.

 The family would like to thank the staff at Salem Lutheran Home for their loving care and support. The family will hold a private memorial service and requests no flowers.