Leslie E Wheeler passed away on Thursday, March 22, 2018, at Normandy Park Senior Living in Burien, Washington. Les was 89 years old at the time of his death. His loving daughter, Tina was with him until the very end.
Les lived a long and notable life in southern California, Oregon, and finally in Washington. He was born in Eugene, Oregon, and so he always claimed to be a native Oregonian, but while still a baby, he and his mother moved to southern California to be near family. Les began working in machine shops at the remarkably young age of 14. He built gun mounts during World War II, and then turned to auto racing equipment after the war. By the time he was building aircraft parts at Tools, Inc. in Los Angeles (a company that he helped to establish) he was dating Margaret Sieck. She was, quite simply, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and they were married in 1949.
The next twenty years of his life were devoted to family (he loved to go fishing and hunting with his two sons), as well as participation through his work in some of the most notable events of the 1950’s and 60’s. At Tools, Inc., he supervised the building of parts for America’s first nuclear reactors, making consulting trips to the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. He and his company were part of the growing military and commercial jet plane industry. He built camera housings for Panavision as the movie industry grew in southern California. Tools, Inc. built the camera housings for the underwater photography in the James Bond film, Thunderball! Most notably, Les worked on America’s space program. His children were always proud to note that their dad had built parts for the hatch that was opened during America’s first space walk in the Gemini program.
By 1969, Les and Margaret decided to embark on an entirely new life adventure. They sold Tools, Inc. and moved to Corvallis, Oregon where they became novice farmers on Kiger Island. At first, Les fixed the farm equipment of his neighbors and they gave him advice and assistance with farming. Soon however, with Margaret managing the books and occasionally attacking weeds with a hoe, Les became an expert farmer. Les and Margaret produced filberts, row crops of all kinds, seed crops (particularly sugar beet seed), and lots and lots of strawberries.
The farming years were a time for community service. Les served on the Benton County Board of Equalization and the Benton County Child and Youth Commission. He was on the board of the Benton County Foundation, serving as president in 1991 and 1992. He was a very active member of Corvallis Rotary, serving as president in 1981 and 1982.
The farming years were also a time for fun, particularly when he raised Morgan Horses with his daughter, and restored antique Fords. Les was a show manager for the Morgan Horse Association of Oregon and an active member of the Corvallis Historic Auto Club, The Enduring A’s, and The Early V-8 Club. Les and Margaret also enjoyed traveling throughout the US and Europe, and Les took a number of hunting and fishing trips to Alaska with his sons and grandsons.
The tragedy of Les’s life came in 2009 when, after 60 years of marriage, Margaret passed away after a long struggle with scleroderma. For the last years of his life, Les lived for a time at his farm on Kiger Island, then moved to Stoneybrook Senior Living in Corvallis, and then finally to Normandy Park Senior Living in Burien where he could be close to Tina and her family. In the last part of his life, Les made many new dear friends, and took joy in the growth and prosperity of his family.
Les leaves behind three children, David (Martha), Paul (Chris), and Tina (Ken), seven grandchildren (Steven, Leslie, Ali, Dan, Beth, Nick, and Greg), and five great grandchildren, (Paul, Ryan, Meredith, Leander, Paxton, and Stephen), with two more great grandchildren on the way.
An interment service will be held this summer at Crystal Lake Cemetery where Les will be reunited with Margaret.
Memorial donations may be made to the Wheeler Family Fund at the Benton Community Foundation. The fund is dedicated to the children’s programs of the Benton County Historical Society. Checks may be made payable to the Benton Community Foundation, note Leslie & Margaret Wheeler Family Fund on the memo line, and mailed to: Benton Community Foundation, PO Box 911, Corvallis, OR 97330.
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