Ola Mae Wheeler

Ola Mae Wheeler was born in Cave Springs, Georgia on Nov. 4, 1921. She was raised there by her grandmother, Christina O’Cain until the age of nine. She would eventually move with her mother, Audrey Roberts McClure and father, Porter Roberts Sr. in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was the oldest of seven children. She attended the Chattanooga Public schools.

She married Fred D. Wheeler Sr. at the age of 17 years old and bore four children from this union; Marian V., Olivia L., Leonard D., and Fred David. After a series of some life changing events, Ola Mae was left a single mother with four children to raise. They would soon become the second family to move into the newly-built Alton Park housing developments in the late 1950s. She and her children lived in units 309, 307, and 205 on West 37th street until each child left home. The children loved the Alton Park community for providing them a strong sense of family and community where everyone took care of one another. It was in this neighborhood that both Ola Mae and her children met lifelong friends and continued to cherish those memories until this day. She resided there until she purchased her beloved “89 Maude Street” in the early 1990s. She treasured her home as a gift from God as she never dreamed that she would ever attain homeownership. Following the death of her eldest child, Marian, she lived alone and took care of herself until 99 years of age. She was blessed to be able to do all of her cooking, cleaning, and laundry up until that time. She was known to keep a very clean and tidy home.

Ola Mae accepted salvation and was filled with the Holy Spirit in the late 1940s under an outreach mission led by the late Mother Alice Owens. In 1954, Mother Owens was assigned as the pastor of New Bethel F.B.H. Church of Americas during its lowest point, in which she took along six pioneer members, including Ola Mae. Mother Owens led the church to new heights from 1954 to 1964 until her passing. It was during this time that Ola Mae was very instrumental in bringing others to Christ, including her mother, Audrey McClure; step-father, Howard McClure; brother, Porter Roberts; and friends including George Buckner, Willie Crumb, and many others. Ola Mae was a local licensed minister and served The New Bethel F.B.H. Church until her transition from this world. Under this ministry, Ola Mae served in multiple capacities including Church Clerk, Secretary of Trustee and Finance, member of the Senior Mission and Mother’s Board, Sunday School teacher, Secretary, and Pastor’s Aide. She also faithfully prepared communion of first Sundays. She was very detailed in her bookkeeping, which she started at age 27 and eventually relinquished her duties in 2008. However, she continued to serve as a mentor and advisor to her successors. Throughout the years, she made many lifelong friends including Elvina Walker, who was her close friend and prayer partner.

Outside of Ola Mae’s work for the Lord, she provided domestic work for residences on Signal Mountain and worked as a nurse's aide in the nursery at Erlanger hospital. Unbeknownst to her, she would pave the way for three of her grandchildren to become nurse practitioners, with one attaining a doctoral degree in nursing. God also blessed Ola Mae to live long enough to witness her legacy become entrepreneurs, educators, finance and accounting experts, business owners, and creatives in music, theater, and the arts. She was very proud of her family. God did a marvelous work through Ola Mae because of her lifelong unwavering commitment to serving Him!

Ola Mae’s hobbies and interests included baking, sewing, gardening, and reading. She especially loved to read the bible and would memorize poems and scriptures that should could recite from memory, including one of her favorites, Psalm 91. As she grew older and became physically unable to do some of these beloved activities, Ola Mae held fast to her love for the bible and for old church hymns. She could remember every verse of a hymn that she learned as a child from start to finish. She heavily believed in the power of prayer.

Ola Mae was preceded in death by her grandmother, Christina O’Cain; mother, Audrey Roberts McClure; father, Porter Roberts Sr.; mother-in-law, Katherine (John) Wheeler; daughter, Marian V. Wheeler; son, Fred D Wheeler Jr.; son-in-law, Howard E. Ringer Sr.; brothers, Tommy Roberts, and Porter (Frankie) Roberts Jr.; sisters, Nerissa (James) O’Kelley, Iris (Andrew) Goss, and Doris (John) Burrell; sisters-in-law, Lena (Oscar) Cameron, Jane (Herbert) Whitaker, Ruby (James) Foster, and Gwendolyn (Harrison) Mack.

She leaves to cherish her memories, two beloved children, Olivia L. Ringer, of Chattanooga, and Leonard D. (Cynthia) Wheeler Sr. of Abilene, Tx.; one devoted daughter-in-love, Debra Wheeler of Chattanooga; one brother, Walter (Linda) McClure of DeSota, Tx.; 10 grandchildren, Howard Ringer Jr. of Orlando, Fl., Lucinda Ringer of Chattanooga, Dana Wheeler of Chattanooga, Leonard (Diana) Wheeler Jr. of Midlothian, Tx.; Yolanda (Darin) Pearson of Huntington Beach, Ca.; Fred David (Keisha) Wheeler III of Chattanooga, Raymond Wheeler of Grand Prairie, Tx., Deondra (Brent) Holston of Chattanooga, Bernard Wheeler of Grand Prairie, Tx., and Jonathan Ringer of New Rochelle, NY; 10 great-grandchildren, Davian, Keon, Donathan, Kyla, and Khloe Wheeler, Brandon Ringer, Irvin Wheeler, Carmen Wheeler, Titus Jordan Smith, and Brayden Holston; one great-great-granddaughter, Celina Herrera of Escondido, Ca.; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

 

Public viewing will begin at 9 a.m. until the hour of the service at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 20, in the chapel of John P. Franklin Funeral Home, 1101 Dodds Ave., Chattanooga.

Interment will follow at Beautiful Greenwood Cemetery.