Marion Wheeler

Marion Frieda Wheeler (née Oetting) was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 28, 1931 the daughter of William and Paula Oetting. While Marion was growing up in Brooklyn, the family enjoyed summers with cousins and friends at a farm near Troy, New York. As a teenager, she and her younger brother William helped out at Oetting’s Delicatessen, located in the Sunset Park neighborhood. She also worked at a local five and ten cent store. After graduating from Bay Ridge High School Marion worked at a local bank.

In 1953, she married Howard Earl Wheeler, who was serving in the U.S. Navy at that time. Later that year, she gave birth to a daughter, Paula. A meticulous homemaker, Marion liked to spend time with her family. They enjoyed many car trips to historic sites in the northeast and frequently visited family resorts in Pennsylvania. Once Paula was in school, Marion worked at a neighborhood card shop in Brooklyn.

In the late 1960s, the Wheelers relocated from Brooklyn to Grymes Hill in Staten Island along with Marion’s parents. Howard Wheeler passed away in 2001, her father passed away in 1991 and her mother in 2006. Following the loss of her mother, Marion moved to Sunnyside, Staten Island to live with her daughter Dr. Paula Wheeler Carlo and her family.

In her later years, Marion loved to spend time with her family, especially her grandchildren Dr. Jeremy Carlo and JC Carlo. She also enjoyed walking and window shopping at the Staten Island Mall, doing crossword puzzles, reading, and watching television. “Despite having been born in 1931, she was very insistent that she was 39, just like her favorite comedian, Jack Benny,” her daughter Paula recalls. Marion was a regular supporter of many charities, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Shepherd’s Baptist Ministries in Union Grove, Wisconsin.

Marion passed away peacefully on May 15, 2023 after a brief hospitalization and stay for rehab at Clove Lakes Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. She was surrounded by her daughter Paula, her son-in-law Gerald Carlo as well as her two beloved grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother William Oetting and his sons William (Michelle) and Richard (Yohanna) and their families. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Marion Wheeler to one of the charities mentioned above.