Elma Landram Wheeler passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her devoted family on Thursday, the 25th of April 2013. Elma was celebrated for her keen intelligence, intellectual curiosity, and unbridled enthusiasm for life. She was a docent at the Museum of Fine Arts and Bayou Bend, was a founder of the Houston Ballet Guild, and delighted in her memberships of River Oaks Garden Club, the Junior League of Houston, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae Association, River Oaks Country Club, and the Lady Washington Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Macrery Britton (Mike) Wheeler, Jr., her mother, Elsie Cottrell Hayes and step father, Dr. Herbert T. Hayes. She is survived by her daughter, Barbara Wheeler Reid, and her husband, George H. Reid; her son, Michael Ivens Wheeler and his wife Kathi Mosbacher Wheeler; her grandson, Harris Reid; his wife, Sally, and their twins, Jack and Margaret; and her granddaughter, Allison Reid Ash, her husband, David Ash, and their son, John. She is also survived by her sister, Elsie Layton; her daughter, Elsie Rankin, and her children, Elsie and Tom.
Born on the 10th of June 1922 in Houston, Elma graduated from the second graduating class of Lamar High School in 1939 and first attended the University of Texas where she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, then transferred to Sophie Newcomb in New Orleans where she met Mike on a blind date when he was home on leave from the war. They married six months later, Mike, resplendent in his white Naval uniform, and Elma in what she very proudly referred to as her "borrowed wedding dress", a concession to the war. She returned to Houston with her husband and young family in 1955.
The family is especially grateful to Elma's longstanding care givers, Ella Allen, Joyce Carter, and Linda Frank, who loved her and looked after her as if she was their own.
Elma's passion for life and great energy will be missed by everyone who knew her.
The memorial service is to be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, the 30th of April, at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston, where the Rev. Martin J. Bastian, Senior Associate Rector for Pastoral Care, is to officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Bagby Parrish Hall.
In lieu of customary remembrances, contributions in Elma’s name be directed to the Houston Ballet, 601 Preston, Houston, TX, 77002; the River Oaks Garden Club Memorial Fund, 2503 Westheimer, Houston, TX, 77098; or Houston Hospice, 1905 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030.
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