Extraordinary lives
JEAN was 12 years my senior and had a transforming influence on my life. She taught me to read and write, read books to me as a young child and encouraged me to write, inspiring my career choice. We were educated at a small private school in London run by Kate and Mabel Blyton, cousins of the author Enid Blyton. In 1952, Jean entered the British oil industry, rising swiftly to become the indispensable aide to Sir John Hedley Greenborough, managing director of Shell and president of the Confederation of British Industries. She worked for Shell all over the world, including seven years in Iran, where she won the friendship of the last Shah and his second wife, Queen Soraya. At the Shah’s request, Jean taught shorthand and typing to his nieces. He introduced her to his cousin, King Hussein of Jordan, and she was the first non-Jordanian girl the King entertained to dinner. Some later believed her Westernising influence on him paved the way towards his marriage to British-born Antoinette Gardiner, who became Princess Muna al-Hussein.
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In 1970, Jean married the charming and distinguished oil technologist Roy Wheeler. She formed a close bond with Lesley and Brent, his children by his first marriage. The couple worked for Shell in Kirkuk, Basrah, Baghdad and Milan. While in Baghdad, the wife of the British ambassador became seriously ill and Jean stood in for her for six months and organised embassy engagements. Just three years after they married, Roy developed terminal cancer and died at the age of only 51. Jean was grief-stricken, but she picked herself up, went back to Shell and became the first woman to work on the FLAGS offshore gas pipeline project in the North Sea. A report on her contribution noted: ‘Her diligence and enthusiasm are contagious and have affected the whole project team.’ There was further tragedy when Brent was diagnosed with terminal melanoma at the age of 53. Though Jean was in her 70s and living on the Isle of Anglesey, she did not hesitate. She packed a bag and took the train to London, where she spent ten weeks helping Brent’s wife, Nita, nurse him. Even after the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, Jean retained her capacity to charm. When her funeral cortege arrived at her house, six of her carers stood on the pavement to say goodbye. No one who knew my beloved sister would have been in any way surprised.
Jean Veronica Wheeler, born January 12, 1929; died September 29, 2020, aged 91.