Donald W. Wheeler

Donald Wendell Wheeler passed away on April 24 after a long struggle with cancer.  Don, the son of Donna Marie and Robert Wheeler, was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois. His adventures, college, and work took him to numerous places around the Midwest and East coast, and he settled in South Bend, Indiana.

Don was the best of men. He was kind and generous. He was an adventurer: he raced sled dogs; he paddled the Boundary Waters wilderness; he could cook a gourmet meal over a campfire. He volunteered endlessly in his community, especially for families and children in need. He campaigned for social justice. Don was smart and creative and ready to lend a hand to friends or neighbors before they asked. He loved his family, to quote him, “more than anything.” He adored his daughter, and thought of fatherhood as the greatest gift he had ever received.

Through his work as a home inspector, Don helped many families get the best out of home-ownership. He used his prodigious carpentry and landscape skills to help people throughout the region improve their homes. He was especially proud of his volunteer work through Rebuilding Together St. Joseph County, helping neighbors stay safely in their own homes as they aged. He volunteered as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) on behalf of vulnerable children in the foster-care system, and he volunteered in the public-school system. He simply lent a hand whenever and wherever he could.

Family was the core of Don’s life. He leaves behind his wife of 25 years, Patricia Blanchette, and their daughter, Sarah Wheeler. Also surviving Don are his sister Meg Al-Qassas, niece Kathy Santure and her family, cousin Patrick Wheeler, five brothers-in-law and his father-in-law. The world is not the same without Don, and we will miss him forever.

Memorial Services will be held 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2026 at the First Unitarian Church, 801 E. Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana. Palmer Funeral Home-Guisinger Chapel is honored to assist the family at this time. 

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