Malcolm Wheeler

Mystic — Malcolm Frederick Wheeler, of Mystic, passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side Jan. 30, 2022. He was 93. A longtime employee of the IBM Corporation whose career spanned the computer industry from punch cards to microchips, Malcolm Wheeler was an admired and public-spirited member of every community he lived in, most notably Darien, Newport, R.I., and finally Mystic, at the StoneRidge senior living community. Dorothy Wheeler, his wife of 66 years, died in 2016.

Malcolm Wheeler was born in Summit, N.J., in 1928, the fourth of five children of William Roderick Wheeler, an architect, and Adelaide Ramsey Wheeler, a homemaker. When an outspoken uncle declared that little Malcolm ought to be called “Mac,” the nickname stuck. After moving to Maplewood, N.J., his parents, although Methodists, enrolled him in the local Episcopal church to develop his aptitude for choral singing. He would sing in Episcopal church choirs throughout his life. After his 1946 graduation from Maplewood’s Columbia High School, he attended Columbia University. Working at the Columbia admissions office in the summer of 1949, Mac met general studies’ student Dorothy Anas. They would marry Feb. 2, 1950, on campus at Saint Paul’s Chapel.

After his graduation in

1950, Mac, interested in new business technologies, took a job at the U.S. Census Bureau to work in the early computer industry on the tabulation of the 17th Decennial Census. By 1952, he was working for IBM in Washington, D.C. His IBM career took him to St. Louis, Endicott, N.Y., and Chicago. In 1965, Mac took his family to Darien, where he worked at IBM in White Plains, N.Y., for the next 16 years. In the mid-’70s, Mac was among the IBM managers teamed with lawyers from the firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore for the landmark antitrust case United States v. International Business Machines Corporation. Soon after that case concluded in the early ’80s, he took an early retirement from IBM, although he would continue to work for them as a consultant until 2014, stopping at age 86.

In 1985 Mac and Dot Wheeler moved to Newport, R.I., where they hosted Australian sailors competing in the America’s Cup as well as young professional tennis players competing at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. A lifelong tennis player and fan — for many years, he attended the US Open as well as Wimbledon — Mac took great satisfaction in getting to know these aspiring professional tennis players and following their careers.

For six years, Mac was president of the Newport County branch of the English Speaking Union, which sponsored British guest speakers from the worlds of the arts, politics, and academia. He also served on the executive committee of the board of the Newport Music Festival, and was a member of the Newport Reading Room and the Ida Lewis Yacht Club. Dec. 4, 2005, was declared by the City of Newport to be “Mac and Dottie Wheeler Day,” to thank them for their efforts

“to make Newport a better place.”

In 2010 Mac and Dot Wheeler made their final move to StoneRidge in Mystic, where the Wheelers soon became active members of their new community. Mac soon sang in the StoneRidge chorus and ultimately became chairman of the chorus committee. He also served as chair of the Great Decisions world affairs discussion series at StoneRidge.

Malcolm Wheeler is survived by his children: Scott Wheeler of North Reading, Mass., Wendy Wheeler of Newton, Mass., Jill Bourbeau of Franklin, and Drew Wheeler of Copake, N.Y.; and grandchildren: Margaret Wheeler, Emily Reid, Elizabeth Wheeler and Alexa Wheeler.

A celebration of his life will be held for the community of StoneRidge and a funeral service and burial will be held in the spring at St. Columba’s Chapel in Middletown, R.I. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, 194 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, R.I. 02840, https://www.tennisfame.com or the Potter League for Animals, 87 Oliphant

Lane, Middletown, R.I. 02842, https://potterleague.org.