Otis Bullard Wheeler

Otis Bullard Wheeler died Sunday, May 25, 2008, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center from complications following surgery. He was 87, a native of Mansfield, Ark., and a resident of Baton Rouge since 1952, when he joined the faculty of the LSU English department. He retired as professor emeritus of English in 1981, having also served the university as associate dean of the graduate school, chair of the English department, vice chancellor for academic affairs and acting chancellor. Otis grew up in Tulsa, Okla., and was educated in the Tulsa public schools. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1942, master's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1947 and his doctorate from the University of Minnesota in 1951. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II from June 1942 to April 1946 as an artillery officer in France and Germany. As a reserve officer, he also spent 15 months in active duty during the Korean War, serving first at Fort Sill, Okla., then in Korea, where he was assigned to an armored battalion. Among other citations, he received the Bronze Star. Otis was a loving father, husband and grandfather and a faithful friend. He spent much of his adult life learning and thinking about the human condition, and he shared his knowledge, with wit and wisdom, with his family, friends and students. His academic specialty was American literature and the work he most admired was Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." Among his publications were a literary biography, "The Literary Career of Maurice Thompson" (1965), and a beautifully written essay, "The Sacramental View of Love in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries" (1970). Following retirement, he indulged his lifelong interest in photography. He and his good friend, Robert W. Heck, collaborated on a book about historic Louisiana churches. With his wife, Anne, he worked on a book about American church architecture; Otis photographed and printed in his darkroom the 82 striking images of megachurch buildings throughout the United States that appeared in "From Meetinghouse to Megachurch: A Material and Cultural History." Otis is survived by his wife, Dr. Anne Carol Loveland Wheeler; daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Ann Carolyn Wheeler and Mr. Gene Evans; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Ross Charles Wheeler and Mrs. Kelly Cosgrove Wheeler; and three grandchildren, Allana Cosgrove Wheeler, Grace Cosgrove Wheeler and Alexander Cosgrove Wheeler. Preceded in death by his first wife, Doris Louise Alexander Wheeler; parents, Clarence Charles Wheeler and Georgia Elizabeth Bullard Wheeler; and brother, Clarence Pershing Wheeler. He was a longtime member of University United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to University United Methodist Church or to Hospice of Baton Rouge, 9063 Siegen Lane, 70810, where he had worked as a volunteer since 1989. Visitation at University United Methodist Church chapel on Friday, May 30, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Service at University United Methodist Church on Saturday at 10 a.m. Graveside service at Roselawn Cemetery will be private. Arrangements by Rabenhorst Funeral Home, (225) 383-6831.