Ellsworth “Bud” Wheeler Jr. ’57

Ellsworth “Bud” Wheeler Jr. ’57, Ph.D., died May 17, 2014, at his home in Laconia, New Hampshire. Bud prepared for Dartmouth at Amherst (Massachusetts) High School. At Dartmouth Bud was a member of the Air Force ROTC; after graduation he served in the U.S. Air Force from 1958 to 1962. Bud then enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving until 1974. Along the way he earned a Ph.D. in oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. After retirement from the Navy Bud joined Stanford University, where he led research expeditions at sea, taught graduate courses and wrote grant proposals. From 1970 to 1978 he taught at the University of New Hampshire. While in New Hampshire he opened a pottery gallery, selling his own creations at nearby Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth. Bud and his second wife, Kay, moved from New Hampshire to Charleston, South Carolina, and lived on a small boat for several years. He worked as reference librarian at the University of South Carolina medical school. He again opened a studio and gallery, the Wheeler Portrait Sculpture, turning his beloved part-time hobby into a second career. He retired for good in 2011, and he and Kay moved to Laconia last year to be closer to family. Bud was predeceased by a sister, a grandson and his first wife, Ann. He is survived by Kay, three sons, two grandsons, four stepchildren and six stepgrandchildren.