Othar Joshua Wheeler

Othar Joshua (Josh) Wheeler, 94, died peacefully on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at Blough Healthcare Center in Bethlehem, PA. Son of the late John and Hattie (Talley) Wheeler, he was born on May 26, 1915 in Prospect, TX, the youngest of ten children. He played football at SMU and attended LSU in the music school where he met and married his wife of 65 years, the late Marion (Moody) Wheeler prior to serving in the Army Air Corps as a captain. At LSU he was voted the most talented undergraduate and performed on the Fred Allen Show in 1942. Following his service in WWII, he studied music/voice (baritone) at Columbia University and the Julliard School of Music in New York City. Throughout his operatic and theatrical career, he performed on concert tours and in operas with The New York Opera Company; on Broadway in "Paint Your Wagon"; on TV in NBC Opera Theatre, The Betty Hutton Show, US Steel Hour, The Ray Bolger Show, The Milton Berle Show, and The Martha Raye Show, as well as commercials. He also played the guitar and made industrial films for Bethlehem Steel Co., Sun Oil, and Ford Motor Company, but his true love was the opera. He is survived by a brother Cecil K. Wheeler of Dallas, TX; a son, William Wheeler and his wife, Susan, of Malvern, PA; a daughter, Jan Wheeler Ruhle and her husband Jay of Coopersburg, PA; four grandchildren: Talley Ruhle of Riegelsville, PA, Josh Ruhle of E. Greenwich, RI, Karen Wheeler Galrao and her husband, Lou, of Saucon Valley, PA, Tracy Wheeler Kelly and her husband, Kip, of Malvern; and four great grandchildren: Hope and Christian Kelly and Abigail and Mia Galroa. Services and interment are private. Falk Funeral Homes & Crematory, Inc. is in charge of arrangements. For information or to send on-line condolences visit www.falkfuneralhomes.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent in his name to: Care Alternatives Hospice, 501 Office Center, Suite 285, Fort Washington, PA 19034 ATTN: Susan Serio; or The National Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601.