In Memory

Harold Wheeler

Harold C. "Stormy" Wheeler died on Thursday, December 8, 2005, in Evanston, Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Mary A. Martin; his three children, Ryan, Jenny, and Amy Wheeler; and his two sisters, Holly (Townsend) Brady and Meredith (Robin Ellis) Wheeler.

Stormy was born September 11, 1945 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the son of the Late Warren C. and Doris Wheeler nee Wise. He grew up in Northfield, Illinois and attended New Trier High School, graduating in 1963.

He attended Harvard College, graduating in 1967 with an A.B. degree in Economics. He then served in Vietnam as a naval officer from 1968-1969. Stormy subsequently attended University of Virginia School of Law, receiving a J.D. in 1974.

He entered private law practice in Chicago in 1974, most recently serving as a partner in the law firm of Butler Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd. He also served on the Chicago Board of Prevent Child Abuse America. Stormy played football in high school and college, loved golf and poker, and was an avid fan of the Chicago Bears. He was devoted to his family and loved watching his children participate in sporting events and theatrical productions.

Stormy's family posted this video of him - Remembering Stormy 1945-2005: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhrvqDJljKk

Here is an article posted about Harold in the Chicago Tribune in 2005.

Law firm partner had deep roots in Illinois

Evanston resident was family's fifth generation to live in state

December 13, 2005|By Judy Peres, Tribune staff reporter.

Harold C. "Stormy" Wheeler, a partner in the law firm of Butler Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd, was a fourth-generation Chicagoan and a fifth-generation Illinoisan.

His great-great-grandfather, Calvin Wheeler, came to Kendall County via the Erie Canal in the mid-1800s and settled in Bristol, where he practiced medicine.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/images/pixel.gif

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/images/pixel.gif

"The family ran a way-station on the Underground Railroad," which helped runaway slaves from the South escape to freedom in the North, said Mr. Wheeler's wife of 23 years, Mary Martin.

Mr. Wheeler's great-grandfather moved to the Chicago area, where his descendants have remained.

Stormy Wheeler broke the chain briefly by being born in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where his father was stationed with the Army Corps of Engineers. But he grew up in north suburban Northfield.

Mr. Wheeler, 60, died of a heart attack on Thursday, Dec. 8, while driving near his Evanston home.

After graduating from New Trier High School in 1963, he attended Harvard College and received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1967.

In 1968 and 1969 he served in Vietnam as a naval officer.

In 1974 Mr. Wheeler earned a law degree from the University of Virginia and returned to Chicago, going to work for Winston & Strawn, where he met his future wife.

"He was good-looking," said Martin, "but he was also principled and had a good sense of humor." Martin said her husband's lifelong nickname stemmed from a family legend, according to which his newly married parents were on a boat in Tennessee when a storm came up. "His mother supposedly got seasick, but it turned out to be morning sickness. It was a pretty stormy pregnancy," Martin said.

In 1997 Mr. Wheeler joined Butler Rubin, where he was a commercial litigator specializing in reinsurance disputes.

"He was a brilliant lawyer, " said his partner Gerry Saltarelli, "as well as a staunch friend for 30 years."

Saltarelli said he and Mr. Wheeler once were canoeing down a river in Wisconsin and had camped for the night.

"It was cold and drizzly," said Saltarelli. "We had brought freeze-dried eggs and were trying to cook them over a campfire. Finally, Stormy said, `You guys are nuts,' jumped into the car and found a good restaurant in the middle of nowhere."

Mr. Wheeler was an avid sportsman. "In his day he played football," said Saltarelli. "Later he played golf, like all of us: terribly."

Mr. Wheeler served on the Chicago board of Prevent Child Abuse America. A friend and colleague on the board, Kathy Zettek, said Mr. Wheeler was wise and generous and extremely loyal.

"Everyone asked him for advice," Zettek said. "He was like a black hole. He must have known everyone's secrets, but he never repeated anything to anyone else."

A devoted Bears fan, Mr. Wheeler exposed his children from an early age to Walter Payton and the other 1985 Bears doing the "Superbowl Shuffle."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/images/pixel.gif

"That cheesy video ran constantly in our home," Martin said. "He loved the Bears, winning or losing--although he preferred winning."

One thing Mr. Wheeler loved more than his football team was his three children: Ryan, Jenny and Amy.

Her late husband "would want to be remembered as a dad--a dad of three great kids," Martin said. Mr. Wheeler is also survived by two sisters, Holly Brady and Meredith Wheeler.

Harold's name was added to our In Memory page by classmate Larry Kessler.







agape