Laura Von Dora Hemphill Wheeler, 89, of Tifton died Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at her residence, surrounded by her family. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2011, in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals. Rev. Larry Layfield will officiate with burial to follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Clinton Walker, Jason Wheeler, Dustin Wheeler, James Payne, David Schweitzer and Bryan Moore will serve as pallbearers. The family will receive friends on Friday, April 1, 2011, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals.
Mrs. Wheeler was born on November 21, 1921 in Eatonton and was the daughter of William R. Hemphill and Bessie Reagan Hemphill, both deceased. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Famous Wheeler, who died in 2001; two brothers and two sisters. She was a homemaker and a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Chula. Before becoming a homemaker and raising her family, during World War II, she worked for the Department of Defense at the munitions plant in Macon and Savannah.
Mrs. Wheeler is survived by two sons and one daughter-in-law, Garry and Pam Wheeler of Chula and Ferris Wheeler of Tifton; three daughters and two sons-in-law, Laurette Holton of Tifton, Gail and Bill Eggleton of Huntington Beach, Virginia and Glennis and Sid Williams of Smyrna; two sisters, Mattie Lou Hanlan of Grandbury, Texas and Vivian Womack of Chula; nine grandchildren, Clinton D. Walker, Carla D. Schweitzer, Twyla N. Downs, James T. Payne, Jr., Melissa L. Moore, Dustin L. Wheeler, Darah J. Wells, Dinah N. Webb and Jason L. Wheeler; and 21 great-grandchildren.