Kyle Wheelus, Jr. , 77, passed away on Monday evening, November 26, 2007 at his home in Beaumont, Texas.
Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, November 30, 2007 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Burial will follow at the Wheelus family plot at Magnolia Cemetery under the direction of Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin, Beaumont. A gathering of family and friends will be Thursday, November 29, 2007 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the mortuary and on Friday before the service from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. in the Cloister Room at St. Mark’s.
Kyle was born on November 24, 1930 to Estelle Bryant Wheelus and Kyle Wheelus, Sr.
He was graduated from Beaumont High School in 1948, and in 1952 from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He interrupted his first year of law school at the University of Texas to begin Navy OCS Training during the Korean War. Following two years at Fleet Sonar School in Key West, Florida, he assumed duties on the USS Endicott, based in San Diego, California. Following his tour of duty in the United States Navy, he resumed the study of law. Upon graduation, he joined the law firm of George Weller, which later became Weller, Wheelus and Green. He left the firm after many years and opened his private practice, from which he retired in November of 2006.
Kyle was a lifelong member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. He served his parish as Vestryman, Senior Warden, Delegate to Council, and Trustee and Regent at the University of the South. Kyle was also instrumental in organizing the Thursday Morning Men’s Prayer Breakfast, which continues today.
Included in his many community activities are his terms as YMCA Treasurer and President and Chairman of the Professional Division of the 1969 United Appeals Campaign. He was a member of the Lions Club and a board member of the American Red Cross and Salvation Army. He was an active member of the Jefferson County Bar Association of Texas, State Bar of Texas and the Texas Association of Defense Council.
Kyle’s love of boating steered him toward the Beaumont Power Squadron and the Coast Guard Auxiliary. For thirty-five years he taught boating safety courses, patrolled the Neches River and Sabine Lake waterways and held numerous leadership offices in both organizations. He received many awards for meritorious service in connection with these two boating groups, the most recent of which was his appointment as Honorary Chief in the Untied States Coast Guard and his commission as an Admiral in the Texas Navy.
Kyle is preceded in death by his mother, Estelle Bryant Wheelus; his father, Kyle Wheelus, Sr.; and his brother, George Bryant Wheelus. He is survived by Evelyn Wheelus his wife of twenty-three years; his daughter, Collier Blades, her husband, Richard Blades; and grandchildren, whom he adored, Rebecca Mills Blades, William Wheelus Blades and Matthew Hamlet Blades of Houston, Texas.
Those serving as pallbearers are, Henry Ratchford, George Bryant III, William Wheelus Blades, Matthew Hamlet Blades, Tom Lamb, Ted Moor, Les Moor, Alan McNeill, Ed Green, Marvin Park, Thomas and Bill Cole. Honorary pallbearers are Bill Ethridge, Coleman Goatley, Judge Thomas A. Thomas, Winn Price, members of the Beaumont Power Squadron, and Flotilla 611 of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Special blessings were bestowed upon Kyle and his family by the loving care given to him during his illness by Melva Issac, Evelena Rawls, Lois Rawlins, Sandra Collins, and Mae Paul and the Staff of the Brain/Spine Clinic at M.D. Anderson. His family was also sustained by the countless prayers, cards, visits and telephone calls by his large community of friends.
Memorial gifts may be made to MD Anderson Cancer Clinic, Unit 705, P O Box 301439, Houston, Texas 77230-1439; St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 680 Calder, Beaumont, Texas 77701; The University of the South, 735 University Avenue, Sewanee, Tennessee 37383; or the charity of your choice.
