Kathleen Wheeler, 54
ALFORD — Kathleen Wheeler, 54, of Silver Street died Wednesday, June 18, 2008, at home. She was a past chairman of the Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee and had been instrumental in the establishment of the new school.
Born in Housatonic on Aug. 10, 1953, daughter of Emmit and Kathryn Cooper Shea, she graduated from Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington with the class of 1971. She also attended Worcester State College. A longtime resident of Alford, she had moved to Silver Street a year ago.
Mrs. Wheeler supported her husband, Frank T. Wheeler III, in the operation of his store the Yellow Balloon until its closing in the early 1990s. She then worked at both Timberlyn Heights Nursing Home in Great Barrington and Canyon Ranch in Lenox in administrative capacities until the late 1990s. Over the years, she also worked as a caregiver for several local families.
She loved nature and was an enthusiastic bird watcher. She also was an avid reader, reading hundreds of books each year. Above all, she was devoted to her family and cherished spending time with them.
Her husband, whom she married on July 13, 1986, in St. James' Episcopal Church in Great Barrington, died Dec. 6, 2006.
She leaves a son Gary M. Soldati of Los Angeles; a daughter Cheryl E. Soldati of Fort Collins, Colo.; a brother, retired Marine Lt. Gen. Robert M. Shea and his wife, Sheryl, of Manassas, Va.; two stepdaughters, Jennifer Wheeler and Amanda Wheeler, both of Connecticut; a sister-in-law, Linda Mullany and her husband, John, of Great Barrington; several aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, and her beloved cat Savannah.
FUNERAL NOTICE — Funeral services for Kathleen Shea Wheeler will be conducted on Wednesday, June 25, at 11 from Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home in Great Barrington by the Rev. Charles VanAusdall. Burial will follow in St. Bridget's Cemetery in Housatonic.
The family will receive friends on Tuesday, June 24, from 4 until 7 at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kathleen S. Wheeler Memorial Fund through the funeral home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com.