Tina Janiese Wheeler

Visitation will be Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., at Forum Christian Church, 3900 Forum Boulevard, Columbia, MO. Followed by a Celebration of Life service at 11:00 a.m.

Tina was born on October 16, 1966 in Searcy, Arkansas, to James “Tom” Thomas Watson and Janice Carol Watson. On June 28, 1997 she was joined in marriage with Douglas Wheeler.

Tina and her family moved to Sturgeon, MO following her father’s move to the faculty of Columbia College in 1970. Early years were spent growing up in northern Boone County where she attended grade school and middle school at Harrisburg Public School. This was a wonderful time spent exploring the wonders of Silver Fork Creek and the Pinnacles Youth Park, dreaming about horses, reading countless books, and participating in 4-H Strawn Club. 4-H fomented a life-long love of all things living, particularly German Shepherds.

As a teenager, Tina moved with her family to Columbia, MO, attended West Junior High School, and then graduated from Rock Bridge Senior High School in 1985. In high school she was a member of the women’s swim team and participated in the Toast Master International public speaking program.

She then attended Columbia College, followed by the University of Missouri receiving a Bachelors degree in Nutrition and Dietetics in 1990. For many years she worked in the nutrition services department of the University of Missouri Hospital, then Women’s, Infants and Children’s Nutrition program, and then Missouri Department of Early and Secondary Education as a nutrition specialist.

She then bravely embarked on a career change, returning to the University of Missouri, and earned a Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology in 2007. This was a career that she very much enjoyed. She worked as an education speech language pathologist, mainly in the Jefferson City Public School system. She particularly loved working with middle school students with significant speech delay, integrating small animals and gardening into therapy to foster engagement.

Tina was a truly special and courageous person. She was so smart and was gifted with immense artistic talent. She could read books at an unimaginable rate and book club was one of her greatest treasures. Tina was a master gardener and could grow, revitalize, and rescue any plant. Her home resembled a botanical garden. Tina had a keen sense of adventure. She went scuba diving in the Caribbean, skied in the Swiss Alps, took a try at fly fishing, danced like no one was watching, and explored into all manners of culinary delight. Tina was fiercely protective of those she loved, and those entrusted with her care. She married well. Her proudest accomplishment was her daughter, Elizabeth. Tina had a deep Christian faith that led her through the good times and the bad, and now shepherds her in eternal rest.

She was preceded in death by her father, James Watson. She is survived by her husband Douglas Wheeler and daughter Elizabeth Wheeler of their home, as well as her mother Janice Sell, step-father Max Sell, step-mother Kim Watson, brother Thomas Watson, sister Lee Keith, brother Severin Watson, and many loving nieces and nephews.

She was truly a Lamb of God. She will be missed by the flock more than she could know.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110.