Obit of Wheeler Jr., Richard - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

Submitted by:  Gene Phillips <okarchives@comcast.net>  24 Jul 2005
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Wheeler Jr., Richard

Richard Wheeler, Jr. died Wednesday, March 26, 2003. Dick was born in 
Wichita Falls, Texas on July 22, 1934 to Virginia and Richard Wheeler. He 
attended Wichita Falls High School, where he played football and graduated 
in 1952. He attended Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, where 
he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and the football team. Dick 
graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum 
engineering. Following graduation, Dick went to work for Tenneco in 
Oklahoma City. In 1960 Dick started the Rumley & Wheeler Engineering 
Company with Bob Rumley. Rumley & Wheeler operated out of the Local 
Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In 1962, Dick began working with Robert 
A. Hefner III. They collaborated on the drilling of the Belle Isle #1 and 
several deep wells in the Anadarko Basin in the Elk City area, including 
the Green #1, which was the deepest well in the state at that time. 
Following the dissolution of Rumley & Wheeler Engineering in 1964, Dick 
worked as an independent oil producer and consultant until 1973. In that 
year Dick formed Allred & Wheeler Engineering Company with Ivan Allred. 
Allred & Wheeler operated until 1978, at which time Dick resumed his work 
as an independent oil producer and consultant. Dick enjoyed a 47 year 
career as a petroleum engineer in the state of Oklahoma. Dick loved 
thoroughbred horses and owned and raced them since 1974, mostly out of the 
state until Remington Park opened in 1988. He was active in trying to 
improve the development of quality thoroughbreds in Oklahoma. He was an 
active member of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and 
served on the Board of Directors for a number of years. Dick was also a 
member of the Oklahoma Thoroughbred Association. Dick married Rebecca Rice 
Wheeler on January 23, 1988 in the chapel of First Christian Church of 
Edmond, where both have been members since 1987. Dick is survived by his 
wife, Becky; his children and their spouses Lisa and Tim Newby and Michael 
and Tonya Wheeler; his stepchildren and their spouses Devyn and Ryan 
Mitchell and Leon and Teresa Lusk; his grandchildren Ashley, Ally, and 
Andie Newby and Justin and Kylee Wheeler; and cherished lifelong friends. 
Funeral services will, be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2003 at 
the First Christian Church of Edmond. Interment will follow at the 
Waterloo Road Cemetery, at the corner of Kelly and Waterloo Road. In lieu 
of flowers please send donations to the First Christian Church Family Life 
Center or the Mercy Hospital Hospice. Baggerley Funeral Home 930 S. 
Broadway, Edmond

Published in the Oklahoman from 3/28/2003 - 3/29/2003.
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