James Wheeler

James Wheeler, 90 years old, passed away on November 23, 2020.  He was born on August 2, 1930, in Putney, West Virginia, a coal mining camp from the early 1900’s to the 1950’s.  He married his wife Etta Yvonne Barnes on May 29, 1952, a marriage of almost 68 years.

James lived most of his life in West Virginia and was a resident in the town of Rainelle with his wife Etta, until the flood in 2016.  They then moved to Florida to live with their daughter Jamie and son-in-law John.

He worked at numerous jobs from coal mining to river barges to driving some of the largest Caterpillar trucks building roads.  In 1969 he joined Pipelines Local Union 798 out of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  In 1975 he was called to work as a pipefitter on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.  He was one of the few to have worked from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.  Prior to that he was on a pipeline job in Nigeria, Africa. He went from working in the extreme heat of Nigeria in Africa to the extreme cold above the Artic Circle in Alaska.

In 2019, he received a 50-year Membership Plaque from Pipeliners Local Union 798.

After James retired, he and Etta started buying and selling at flea markets.  He liked selling tools, iron skillets, and numerous other items. One time he bought an old box that someone had painted some time ago and the paint was flaking off for $100.00.  He restored it and found out that it was a Wells Fargo Strong Box and sold it for around $1,500.00.  He was really a “Wheeler-Dealer”.  Besides flea marketing, he enjoyed hunting and fishing.

In 2018 he and his wife Etta lived at Bridgewater Park Health and Rehabilitation in Ocala, FL.  He liked taking to the visitors.  He was well liked by the staff.

James was preceded in death by five brothers and one sister, his wife, Etta, who passed away on May 6, 2020, and daughter Susan Rebecca Chapman who passed away on September 10, 2001.

James is survived by his daughter Debra and son-in-law Christopher Martinez, daughter Jamie and son-in-law John Sligh, daughter Thelma Kinstler, sister Martha Marie Spangler, grandson Justin and granddaughter-in-law Breana Sligh, and great-grandson Sylar Sligh.

He will be missed by family and friends.

The viewing will be on November 30th at the Countryside Funeral Home in Anthony, FL at 12:00 followed by the service at 1:00 p.m.