Elizabeth "Betty" Mary Wheeler

Elizabeth Mary Wheeler (Betty) — beloved great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and friend — passed away peacefully on May 12, 2026, surrounded by three generations of family who adored her. Known to nearly everyone as “Nana” or “Aunty Betty,” she lived 90 years with open arms, an open door, and a generosity of spirit that leaves the world a little quieter without her. She was the gravitational center of every holiday, every summer visit and every childhood memory that her grandchildren hold dear.

Betty was born on October 14, 1935 to George and Mary Wing in Preston, England. She grew up in the English countryside in a 300-year-old farmhouse with no modern conveniences where cold mornings and hard work were simply part of life. It shaped her into someone who never complained, never wasted time and never took anything for granted.

Betty spent the first part of her life in England, training as a nurse at Dudley Road Hospital in Birmingham and falling in love with her pen pal, John. After having two daughters, John’s company transferred him to Akron, Ohio, where they settled on Narragansett Drive and met neighbors who would soon become like family.

A member of St. Theresa’s Guild in St. John’s Episcopal Church in Cuyahoga Falls, Betty successfully organized Christmas Teas and Card Parties and received the Mary Martha Award in 2002. She was an avid gardener who loved her summer flowers and spending time in the garden. She was also a talented seamstress, quietly making and mending things for the people she loved. Hosting family and friends was what she did best. Visitors arrived in all seasons from Brooklyn, Tampa, Cincinnati, Lexington and England and everyone enjoyed catching up around the kitchen table enjoying Kyle’s famous fish fries, a good game of cards, chocolate chip cookie bars and lots of cups of tea.

She is preceded in death by her parents, George and Mary Wing, her husband John Wheeler and two brothers, Peter and John. She is survived by her daughters, Debra (Michael) Walton and Helen (Kyle) Frazier; her grandchildren, Kristen (Jeff), Cortney (Henry), Candace (Josh), and Hayley (Tom); and her great-grandchildren, Sophia, Luna, Fiona, Anna, and Graham; as well as lifelong Narragansett friends and extended family across the pond.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations in Betty’s memory to St. John’s Episcopal Church (www.stjohnscf.org) or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org/donate).