Richard Sr. Wheeldon

Richard Wheeldon, Sr., 80, of Afton, died Friday, September 23, 2011 at the Afton Care Center in Afton. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at the United Methodist Church, Lorimor. A visitation will be held from 1 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at Ochiltree Funeral Service, Winterset, where the family will be present to receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m.. Burial will be in the Lorimor Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the family. On-line condolences may be directed to the family at www.ochiltree.com Richard Wheeldon began life on this earth on June 9, 1931 at a house in Earlham, the son of Morris Herschel and Opal Naomi (Sheets) Wheeldon. He was the sixth of ten children growing up in rural Madison and Dallas Counties. Richard graduated from Earlham High School in 1949 followed by enlistment in the United States Marine Corps serving from 1949 to 1952 as a Heavy Equipment Service Technician/Operator. Upon returning from the service, he began working for Harris & Sons Construction in Earlham as a heavy equipment operator. During this time while living in Stuart, Richard met MaryLou Highland. The couple began dating and started their 47 years of marriage on August 14, 1954. The union was blessed with two children Cheryl Jean and Richard, Jr. Making their home in Earlham, Richard continued working for Harris & Sons Construction for an additional 16 years until 1968 when he established his own company, Wheeldon & Son Construction. Richard had a love of the land and worked throughout Madison, Dallas, Guthrie, Union, Adair Counties and beyond, doing all types of soil conservation work. His greatest pride was in a job well done, a characteristic he instilled in his children that a job worth doing was worth doing right and the best you can. While in Earlham, Richard served as a member of the City Council. He was a member of Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA) and served as an officer on the board of directors for central Iowa. In 1983, Richard and MaryLou moved from Earlham to Lorimor where Richard could be closer to his second love, farming. Helping out on his son-in-law and daughter’s farm was his idea of relaxing from the toils of work. Besides that, it kept him closer to his grandkids, which he enjoyed spending time with. Richard continued working in the construction business even to the day he suffered a stroke in November 2001, which left him with limited use of his left side. He and MaryLou enjoyed 47 years and 3 days of marriage when her death in August of 2002 left him without his partner in life. Richard, determined as he was, continued to live at home alone for the next six years until he moved to the Afton Care Center and made that his home for his final four years. Richard is survived by his children, Cheryl (Tim) Erickson of Lorimor and Richard (Irene) Wheeldon, Jr. of Martensdale; five grandchildren, Candace (Jeremy) Kerrigan, Lindsay (Carl) Eklund, Matthew (Debbie) Erickson, Nathan (Tiffany) Wheeldon and Kenna (Randy) Willey and eight great-grandchildren; four sisters, Marie (Henry) Jay, Jean (Bob) Boots, Mary Travis, and Ellen Thompson, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, MaryLou; parents; three brothers, Donald (at birth), Ralph and Bobby; and two sisters, Dorothy and Betty.