Willard Wheeler
December 11, 2020
Coral Gables, Florida - Wheeler, Willard Louis JR
Passed away at home after a long illness on 12/11/20. He was born in 1932 in Evanston, Illinois and was raised in Glencoe, Illinois. He attended New Trier High School in Winnetka and graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He received his MBA at the University of Chicago. After graduating from college he spent 2 years in the army artillery and was discharged as a First Lieutenant and married Virginia Nash in 1954. He then joined the Northern Trust Company and was a Trust Officer in Chicago from 1957 to 1968 and resided in Glen Ellyn and Northbrook, Illinois where he served on the school board. He left the Northern and joined Manufacturers Hanover in New York City and resided in Darien, Connecticut from 1968-1979 and then became Executive Vice President and Director of Lionel D. Edie. He also served on the Advisory Board of Stanford University Graduate School of Business during this time. He joined First Wisconsin as Chief Investment Officer in 1981 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin until 1984 when he rejoined the Northern Trust Company of Florida as Chief Investment Officer and then became Vice Chairman. He resided in Coral Gables, Florida for 37 years and also had a summer home in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. He retired in 2000. Shortly thereafter he was an original investor in Coral Gables Trust in Coral Gables, Florida. He was a member of Riviera Country Club and served as a member of the Board and was also a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Coral Gables, Florida where he served on the Vestry and Endowment Fund. He also served as Honorary Co-Chair of the American Red Cross Ball Miami in 2003. He is survived by his wife of 66 years and 5 daughters, Virginia Elizabeth, Gail Digby (Tim), Kimberly (Kate), Cynthia Nickerson (Tom), Patricia (Ryan) and 10 grandchildren, Nicole McGowan (Matt), Kyle Digby (Kat), Jessica Thompson (Kelly), Matthew Nickerson, Stephanie Nickerson, Ensign Nash Nickerson, Dylan Burkhardt (Marissa), Skylar Burkhardt, and Emily and Julia Stinneford, and great-grandchildren Patrick and Noah McGowan. In lieu of flowers and any contributions can be send to St. Thomas Episcopal Church Alter Guild, 5690 SW 88th Street, Coral Gables, FL. 33156 Memorial Service to be held at a later date.