Charles Elliot Wheeler
Charles Elliot Wheeler, who practiced law in Easton for 55 years, died Saturday, April 24, 2010, at his home. He was 93.
Born April 18, 1917, in Easton, he was the son of Adrienne Tracy Wheeler and Elliot Wheeler. He attended Talbot County schools and was a graduate of Woodberry Forest School and the University of Virginia. As a member of the UVA track team, he held the indoor record for the 440-yard dash for several years. While attending law school at the University of Virginia, he coached the University’s cross-country team and was the assistant track coach.
After graduating from law school in 1941, he was a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals and then an attorney for the U.S. Tax Court in Washington, D.C. He served as an officer in the United States Navy, attached to the Office of Naval Intelligence, from 1943-1945. He achieved the rank of Lt. Commander.
Charlie began practicing law in Easton in 1946 as a partner of Edward T. Miller in the law firm of Miller and Wheeler, which later became the law firm of Wheeler, Thompson, Parker and Counts. He served as Trial Magistrate for Talbot County from 1951-1959. He was a former president of the Talbot County Bar Association and a former member of the Maryland State Bar Association. He was a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation and of the American College of Trust and Estates.
Charlie loved Talbot County, his nearly lifelong home, and helped with the growth and development of several organizations. He was a past president of the boards of the Rotary Club and The Country School, and served as a vice president of Memorial Hospital in Easton. He served on the boards of the Academy of Arts, the Chesapeake Maritime Museum, Historic Easton, the United Fund, the YMCA and the Mid Shore Community Foundation. An avid boater, he was a past member of the Tred Avon Yacht Club and a former commodore of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club. At his death, he was a member of the Talbot Country Club.
Charlie is survived by his wife of more than 70 years, Betty Jean Hammond Wheeler, also an Easton native, and their four children, Adrienne W. Rudge, Lindsley W. Smith, Susan Wheeler, all of Easton, and Charles H. Wheeler of Berkeley, California. Seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren also survive him.