Wheeler, Rita M. – 1922-2010

CLAUSEN, CONARY, MAYNARD, MC CARTHY, PERRAULT, RAWLINS, RICHARDS, VASQUEZ, WHEELER, ZIMMERMAN

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 10/11/2010 at 11:14:44

Rita M. (Maynard) Wheeler, 88, of Des Moines, formerly of Newton, died on Monday, Sept. 27, 2010, at the Fleur Heights Care Center in Des Moines.
A memorial service will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home & Crematory in Newton. The family will greet friends with a coffee time at the funeral home following the services. Memorials to the Fleur Heights Care Center’s Activity Fund may be left at the funeral home.
Survivors include her daughter, Janice L. Conary of Des Moines; two grandchildren, Jena M. (Hugo) Vasquez of Des Moines and Dwayne G. (Mindy) Conary of Ventura, Calif.; her six great-grandchildren; and three sisters-in-law, Beverly Rawlins, Lois Zimmerman and Doris Clausen, all of Newton.
Source: Newton Daily News; Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Additional information from Wallace Family Funeral Home website:
Rita May (Maynard) Wheeler, the daughter of Philip I. and Mary Maynard, was born April 30, 1922, in Northampton, MA. She graduated from St. Michael’s in 1939, and was also a graduate of the School of Nursing of Franklin County in Massachussetts. Rita also served her country in the U.S. Army during WW II. She was part of the 11th Evacuation Hospital European Theater. After the war, she worked as a nurse and a homemaker. Rita was united in marriage with Francis E. Wheeler on December 1, 1945, in Northampton, MA. Rita had lived in Newton from 1945 until 2007, when she moved to Des Moines. She was a member of American Legion Post 111, VFW Post 1655, and the Lady Elks.
She was preceded in death by her parents; 4 brothers: Harold, Francis, Walter, and Lester Maynard; and 2 sisters, Ruth McCarthy and Florence Perrault.
Those left to honor Rita’s memory include her daughter, Janice L. Conary of Des Moines; 2 grandchildren, Jena M. (Hugo) Vasquez of Des Moines, and Dwayne G. (Mindy) Conary of Ventura, CA; 6 great-grandchildren: Mykayla F. Conary of Des Moines, Devon A. Richards of Des Moines, Vincent Vasquez of Des Moines, Jayden M. Conary of Des Moines, Gavin D. Conary of Ventura, CA, and Gabriel Vasquez of Des Moines; and her sisters-in-law, Beverly Rawlins, Lois Zimmerman, and Doris Clausen, all of Newton.