Congratulations to Heather Wheeler for being selected as our
Celina Ladies and Friends Lady of the Month for May 2019
Heather Wheeler and her husband of 33 years, Gerry Wheeler, moved to their Windsong Ranch, Prosper, Texas home in the fall of 2017 as part of the Toyota wave of moves to North Texas associated with the former Torrance, California headquarters move to Plano, Texas. After living in Southern CA basically all of their lives, both of them were excited but apprehensive about the move. Happily, both are delighted with their new Texas life and all of their new friendships and activities.
Heather’s favorite thing about the Celina area is the wonderful ladies she has met as part of Celina Ladies and Friends. Lonesome and not knowing anyone in the area, Heather reached out to the Celina Ladies and Friends by way of the “Contact Us” link on their website. Almost immediately, President Melynne Noble reached out and made Heather feel very welcome. Heather and Melynne and so many of the other ladies in the organization have become close friends, and attend many of each other’s family parties and other special events. Heather loves the small-town atmosphere and was so honored to ride on the Celina Ladies and Friends float in the 2018 Celina homecoming parade. She now proudly serves as the Membership Director on the Celina Ladies and Friends board.
Heather and Gerry are proud parents of their two sons Ryan and Jason and adore their beautiful and talented daughters-in-law, Kelsey and Maddie. Both Ryan and Jason are former professional baseball players, Ryan with the Diamondbacks and Rockies and Jason with the Twins and Korean League Hanwha Eagles. Heather and Gerry are very pleased with how well their sons have transitioned after retirement to move forward with the rest of their lives. Ryan and Kelsey have a beautiful daughter Riley and live in Redondo Beach California. Ryan is Vice President at Liquid-IV, a relatively new and fast-growing hydration drink company. Jason and Maddie are expecting a baby boy in August, and Jason is in law school at ASU and was recently hired for a summer internship at a law firm in Encino, California.
Heather is very happily retired after a wonderful 32-year career as a configuration manager and engineer at Hughes Aircraft and then Raytheon Company. Gerry is an engineer who worked for Hughes Aircraft Company, Hughes Electronics, DirectTV, and for the past 9 years at Toyota Financial Services. Gerry made new friends when his own reach-out email to local high school basketball coaches was answered by the Plano High School Coach Dean Christian, who invited Gerry to assist as a volunteer coach. Gerry loves his work with the kids and generates hundreds of volunteer hours on behalf of Toyota. The Wheelers both have been involved in many neighborhood Windsong Ranch activities, where they have met hundreds of new friends and acquaintances and were Heather assists with the monthly Windsong Ladies Game Night.
Heather says that the luckiest thing that ever happened to her was meeting her future husband Gerry, at 19, at a middle-of-the-night UCLA fraternity raid of her sorority house. He caught her eye as the tallest and most handsome guy in the room. He immediately was intrigued by her because she was on the UCLA JV basketball team, and he was known as one of the many UCLA gym rats. That glance was the beginning of the rest of their wonderful life together.
Heather decorates and entertains friends and family in her home. She loves to find cast-off treasures and make them her own. She also has an impressive craft room where she makes greeting cards and hosts crafting events. Last year, she particularly loved hosting a local Prosper Girl Scout troop whose members made beautiful Mother’s Day cards. Heather and Gerry have enjoyed traveling throughout the United States, mostly for baseball games, and have enjoyed international travel to several European countries, South Korea and are currently looking forward to a trip to South Africa.
Heather’s family is involved in the organization Sharing Kindness. Gerry serves on Sharing Kindness’ board, and the organization was started by Kim and Davis Walters, parents to Jason Wheeler’s wife Maddie. The Walters initiated Sharing Kindness in honor of their youngest child Jeremy, who died at age 16 by suicide in October, 2016. Jeremy was a brilliant, witty, and magical young man who continues to inspire us all. The mission of the organization is to raise suicide awareness through education, advocacy, and prevention and to support survivors who have suffered losses through suicide. Sharing Kindness aims to aid those who grieve by helping to foster resiliency and emotional well-being. The organization provides assistance to local and global communities. On May 18, 2019, Sharing Kindness hosted the Cape and Islands Suicide Awareness Walk in Orleans, Cape Cod, MA. Heather and many of her family were in attendance.
Heather is very honored and humbled to receive recognition as the May 2019 Celina Lady of the Month. Heather, along with all of the members of the wonderful Celina Ladies and Friends Organization, welcomes local ladies looking to reach out and meet new friends.
Congratulations Heather!