Ethel Marie Wheeker

February 26, 1940 - February 12, 2019

Ethel Marie Wheeker, 78, of Englewood passed away on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at Englewood Community Hospital. Ethel was born on February 26, 1940 in Brooklyn, NY to Arthur and Lily Andersen. She grew up, married, and raised three children in Staten Island, NY before moving to Englewood over 20 years ago after the passing of her first husband, John. We remember fond childhood memories of weekends and summer vacations in the “country” house located in Gold Key Lake, Milford, PA. We also knew that Englewood was the perfect retirement spot for her and she often remarked on how wonderful her life was here in Florida, especially after meeting Richard. Ethel was a devout Christian and very active member of Community Presbyterian Church in Englewood, serving in many leadership positions such as Elder, Deacon, Finance Committee and taking an active roll in many other outreach projects. Her passion for organizing various church functions and fund-raising activities clearly showed how much she loved working in the church and spreading God’s word with the congregation. Ethel also enjoyed playing almost daily golf with Richard and the Women’s Golf League at Oyster Creek where she was a long-time member and proud owner of not one, but two hole-in-one shots on #5. Her and Richard also loved taking cruises to many different and interesting locations around the world including Alaska, Norway, Iceland, Panama Canal, south Pacific and the Caribbean. Favorite cruise memories included seeing the aura borealis “northern lights”, family relatives in Norway and visiting the deep space observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Survivors include her husband of 16 years; Richard Wheeker: her three children; Jeff (Jennifer) Bringslid of Salt Lake City, UT; Lillian (Charlie) Gilbert of Port Jervis, NY; Peter (Kerri) Bringslid of Staten Island, NY; five step-children: Richard M. (Mitaela) Wheeker of Kansas City, MO; Lisa (Paul) Wilson of Farmington, MI; Dawn (Mark) Ankenbauer of Rodchester, MI; Mark (Julie) Wheeker of Canton, MI; Brad (Stephanie) Wheeker of Murpyhysboro, TN; one brother: Bud (Patti) Andersen; 15 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. There will be a memorial service "Celebration of Life" at 11:00 A.M., Saturday, April 6, 2019 at The Community Presbyterian Church, 405 South McCall Road, Englewood, FL 34223. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Community Presbyterian Church. http://www.cpcenglewood.com/index.html