John Allen Wheeler

Allen passed away peacefully on December 20, 2017 surrounded by his loving family.

A loving son, husband, father, grandfather and friend, Allen was born March 8, 1929 in Burlington, Iowa to Homer H. & Ruby A. Wheeler.

Allen’s first job was as a car hop at age 11. He attended Moline High School in Moline, Illinois graduating in 1946. In 1950, he joined the Air Force and served in Germany from 1950 until his honorable discharge in 1954. In 1952, he traveled back to the States to marry his sweetheart Verda Tschillard. Allen & Verda were blessed with two daughters, Juli and Debora.

Allen went on to work for International Harvester; in 1962 he opened an A & W Drive-In in Bettendorf, Iowa. In 1966, he moved his family to St. Louis, Missouri where he began working for Lincoln Engineering. His career with Lincoln lasted for 29 years, moving his family to Lake Oswego in 1971. Allen retired from Lincoln as a Zone Manager in charge of 18 western states.

Sadly, Allen’s wife Verda preceded him in death in 1982. In 1983, Allen found love once again and married Lois Myre. With their marriage, Allen & Lois had a combined family of 6 children.

Allen was a devoted and caring husband who never let a day go by without saying "I love you" to his wife. After Allen's retirement from Lincoln Engineering he and Lois enjoyed searching for antiques which lead them to open Rosemont Antiques on their property in West Linn. This allowed them to continue with their hobby of antiquing and was an outlet for Allen, who was the "ultimate salesman", enjoying each contact he made with those who entered their store, whether he made the sale or not.

In 1991, Lois was diagnosed with an eye disease that would eventually take her sight. Allen became Lois's biggest advocate and devoted himself to her care. After Lois's diagnosis, Allen made plans to travel to all of the places they'd talked about while Lois still had her sight. They traveled to the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Greece, Italy, the Holy Lands, took several cruises, and visited many sites in Canada and the United States. Allen's exceptional care for Lois was only one of the external signs of his love for her. Rarely were Allen and Lois seen when not arm-in-arm.

Allen was a devoted and faithful man who shared his love of Christ openly and freely. Always an active member in his church, in his early years Allen helped start a North County Baptist Church in Florissant, Mo and was a founding member of Mt. Park Church in Lake Oswego. Allen was an active member at Mt. Park Church and had participated in many areas; Bible study, as an Elder, church greeter, member & leader of Mt. Park’s Senior Group to mention a few.

Allen is survived by his wife of 34 years, Lois; daughters, Juli (Terry), Debbie, Kate (Tom); sons, Scott, Ron (Ginny), Craig (Dawn); and 11 grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Mountain Park Church on Saturday, January 13th at 11am. Allen will be laid to rest in Willamette National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to Mountain Park Church, Alzheimer’s Foundation, or any organization of your choice in memory of John “Allen” Wheeler.