Bernice M. Wheeler

	Bernice M. Wheeler

Published in The Day of New London, March 4, 2007.

Bernice M. Wheeler, 91, died Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007, after a courageous battle with old age. She said she always thought of herself as being 19.

Bunny, as most of us knew her, was born in Winchester on June 30, 1915, the daughter of Adeline and Homer Wheeler. She was a Connecticut College graduate who earned her master of arts degree at Smith College and her Ph.D. at Yale University. She taught at Smith, Yale, and Westbrook Junior College before joining the Connecticut College faculty in 1947.

She was a professor of zoology, a geneticist and ecologist. Professor Wheeler was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, The American Association for the Advancement of Science, The American Genetics Society, Society of Developmental Biology, and The Ecology Society of America.

Bunny loved learning and loved teaching. She believed that if you have a love of something it can be more than just a feeling, that it can be used to exercise and reward intellect. In her retirement she traveled whenever she had the chance. To explore nature and its diversity, geology and native cultures, their art and history was, for Bunny, a life-long student and teacher's dream.

She loved bird watching, a day at the beach, cats, quiet contemplation, and her times at West Hill Pond where the family once had a cottage, and, of course, cocktail hour on her stone patio with friends. We lovingly called her our eccentric aunt. Spiders, mice, or an occasional garden snake were welcome visitors at or in her home. And wood boring bees undermining her trellis and its beautiful wisteria were a delight to her.

She volunteered her time to Meals on Wheels, The Lyman Allyn Museum, and Planned Parenthood. She was predeceased by her sister, Jean Wheeler Jones and nephew, David W. Jones. She is survived by her two nieces, Sarah W. Jones of North Andover, Mass., and Marcia Woodward and her husband, Arthur, of Cumberland, Maine.

The family wishes to extend its heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the staff at Crescent Point at Niantic where Bunny lived since 2001. They have been incredibly caring and supportive. Her family will hold a private burial service in the spring at Forest View Cemetery in Winsted, Conn.