John P. Wheatley

At the young age of 91, John Patrick Wheatley left all of us to fulfill his lifelong mission to meet Jesus Christ his lord and savior. John’s faith was his guiding force in everything he did from a very young age. Born to William and Marie Emanuel Wheatley, John was the second of seven children: Bill (deceased), John, Dorothy, Eileen, Helen (deceased), Ray (deceased), and Joe.

John was born on April 15, 1925 in New York, New York. Raised in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York, John shared stories of street hockey and baseball, attending Catholic school, serving as an altar boy at weekly Sunday masses, and working for a nickel/week delivering newspapers

A staunch patriot, John attempted to join the Navy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor but was denied due to his age – a mere sixteen. He successfully joined the Navy at 18 years of age and was a survivor of WWII. John served as a Signalman on different navy ships including one of the first wave of LCI’s to land on the beaches of Normandy. He loved to tell stories of the brave shipmates he served with.

While heading inland, John was signaling another ship, advising them that the enemy was “shooting real bullets.” The Captain grabbed him and pulled him on to the deck. When he stood back up, he saw a hole in the side of the ship where he would have been standing. Yet another time, John was going to retrieve the anchor when a fellow shipmate stepped in stating “You’re only a kid – I’ll do this.” As that seaman released the anchor, he was shot and killed.

These are just a few instances which exemplify the many times John had cheated death.

World War II brought back a different John Wheatley. He returned to a job at Macy’s Department Store in Manhattan, New York where he rose from stockboy to clothing buyer. John is remembered by family and friends as a “sharp dresser” – always one to be in business attire, even while sitting at the house. As a Macy’s buyer, John was “wined and dined”, gaining an appreciation of fine food as well as the art of drinking martinis.

John married his coworker Virginia Regensburg on June 27, 1948 after what John described as a two-year courtship.

In July of 1956 John and Virginia welcomed their first son, Warren John Wheatley. Soon after, John left his job, after twenty years at Macy’s, to go to work as a buyer for the Army and Airforce Exchange Services (AAFES). This job took his family overseas on two tours. The first was 1960 to 1965, where they lived in Wiesbaden and Nurnberg, Germany.

Returning to the United States, John would tell Warren he prayed for a little brother to keep him from being alone later in life. Their second son David Brian Wheatley was born on December 27, 1967 in Willingboro, New Jersey. Then a second tour took John and his family to Munich Germany from 1968 to 1974 for a total of eleven years overseas.

John continued to work for AAFES where he was stationed in San Antonio, Arlington and Dallas, Texas where he retired for the second time in his life in in 1981, after 20 years of service to the Department of Defense.

Both John and his wife Virginia chose to move back to New York to be closer to both his and Virginia’s family, settling in Watkins Glen. John realized that the retirement life was not for him so he sought out employment and was hired by Corning Glassworks. He quickly rose to the position of Store Manager where he retired after ten years for the third and final time.

Throughout his working life, John enjoyed activities such as league bowling with his wife, coaching both sons’ sports teams, being a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Veterans organization. And of course, he never turned down the opportunity to attend a party.

With his youngest son David in the Air Force and stationed in Las Vegas, Virginia insisted they move there. Warren would join the family in Las Vegas in 1992. Shortly after moving to Nevada, Virginia’s health started to deteriorate. For the next seven years John devoted his time to caring for his wife where he developed a passion for cooking. John welcomed his granddaughter Krista, on July 19, 1996 and from that moment his world became about his granddaughter, cooking, and his volunteer work at Saint Christopher’s Catholic Church where he served as an usher from 1995 to 2005.

In 1997, John lost his beloved wife Virginia at which time he turned his attention to his new “job” – Krista’s personal chauffeur, babysitter, and Chef-to-All. Sunday dinners at Johns house was the place to be. Family and friends were always asking John to make his famous cheese cakes, egg rolls, lasagna, and much more.

In 2002 and 2004 John’s family grew when Warren and his partner Lenny adopted three children - Ray, Jessie and Kelton. John was always the first to be at a birthday party and the last to leave. Everyone would ask – “What did grandpa John bring to eat?”

John goes on to cheat death again – surviving skin cancer, Bladder cancer and open heart surgery. It then became time for John to slow down, something he wanted no part of. John’s legs gave out before John was ready and put limits on his ability to attend church on a regular basis. Wanting to remain strong in his faith, he settled on a routine of watching the Catholic channel for morning Mass and afternoon prayer. John continued to pray the rosary every day.

Evenings were spent watching the news, sports, enjoying family movie nights and often times watching Blue Bloods - a popular police show based in New York; John enjoyed looking for landmarks and signs of where he grew up. John was always up for a party, joining his sons and their friends whenever possible. These young friends of John’s loved to hear the stories he would tell, oftentimes walking directly in to see John, bypassing Warren and David, food and drinks.

John leaves behind friends and family all over the world. The idea that with faith in God, all things are possible. He will be remembered as a man of great faith, a strong patriot to his country, a devoted and loving husband, a wonderful but firm parent, and an awesome grandpa. For those of us that loved him, we know he is at peace with his maker in a much better place. We cherish and celebrate his life, and everything he believed in.

Arrangements under the direction of Palm Cheyenne Mortuary, Las Vegas, NV.