William E Wheatley

Lt. Col. William E. Wheatley (Ret.), passed away peacefully on June 20, 2017, at Sullivan Park Care Center in Spokane Valley. Bill was born on June 5, 1919, in Donaldson, Arkansas to the late William Lerah Wheatley and Allie Wheatley. Allie died shortly after Bill was born, and he was raised by Jeffie White Wheatley, whom he loved dearly. The family grew to 16 children and Bill, or "Earl" as the family called him, worked in the fields, hunted and fished to help keep everyone fed and the farm prosperous during the Great Depression. In 1937, he graduated from Malvern High School and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Bill's first posting was at Fort George Wright in Spokane, WA, where he met and soon married Phyllis M. Diehm (deceased in 1974). 

As an officer during World War II, Bill was stationed "Somewhere in England" and worked in a variety of capacities, but primarily in petroleum and fueling operations. During the Invasion of Normandy, he helped organize and supervise part of the massive effort to keep supplies flowing to the troops in France. 

Bill briefly returned to civilian life after the war, and worked at Centennial Mills and for The Standard Oil Co. in Spokane. He re-enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Puerto Rico, England and Washington D.C. In 1965, the family returned to Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, where he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1968.

Too young to truly retire, Bill went to work for the U.S. Postal Service as a letter-sorter, rural route carrier, and was promoted to postmaster in Chattaroy. It was during his employment with the post office that he met Edith M. Baldwin and they were married in 1978. After the couple retired from the Postal Service, they opened Evergreen Powdercoatings and continued working until 2016. 

Bill is survived by his beloved wife Edith and four children: Sharon (Richard) Bonwell, Martha Lou (Steve) Wheatley-Billeter, Ken Baldwin, and Greg Baldwin. Bill is also survived by his grandchildren: Sharid, Trent, Ashley, Britaney, Courtney; great-grandchildren, Jesse, Amanda, Travis, Dylan, Allie, Averee; great-great grandchildren, Ty, Chevelle, Myles, Lane; and numerous nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his sisters, Jo Ann (Allan) Efford, of Malvern, AR and LaDonna (Raymond) Mosier of Plano, TX.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10:00 a.m. on July 14, 2017, at Hennessey Valley Memorial Center (1315 N. Pines Road, Spokane Valley). The service will be followed by a commitment ceremony and full military honors at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake. Online condolences may be sent to www.hennesseyvalley.com/tributes. 

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Inland Northwest Honor Flight www.inwhonorflight.org or the Washington State Veterans Cemetery www.dva.wa.gov/cemetery.

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