Profile obituary: Mr. Gene Wheeler

AIKEN - Gene Wheeler's comrades with the Sons of Confederate Veterans remember him as a man proud that his great-grandfather fought and died for the South at Antietam.

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Mr. Wheeler, 65, who died Friday after nearly a yearlong battle with cancer, was also one of the key players who helped build the annual Battle of Aiken into South Carolina's best tourist event.

His comrades plan to honor that pride and work by burying him with full Confederate honors Sunday in Saluda, escorting his coffin, draped with a Rebel battle banner, and firing off a musket salute.

"It was his guidance that put us on the track we're on today," said Danny Francis, the commander of the Barnard E. Bee Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, hosts of the battle re-enactment. "He was the guiding hand who helped us make the Battle of Aiken the success it is today."

Luther Eugene Wheeler was born in Savannah but lived in Aiken for 38 years. He attended The Citadel, was a graduate of Newberry College and was a retired claims adjuster for State Farm Insurance. He also owned Wheeler Grading Co. and ran a cattle farm near Saluda.

But he will be best remembered for his work in putting the Barnard E. Bee Camp on sound financial footing, enabling the group to expand the Battle of Aiken from a small event into a three-day affair attended by thousands, and making it possible for the group to buy nearly 100 acres of land for a battle site and Confederate memorial park that soon will include a granite monument to Aiken-area soldiers.

"His Confederate heritage was very important to him, and the battle was an extension of that," said Pete Peters, one of the top lieutenants of the Barnard E. Bee Camp.

Mr. Wheeler, who carried the same first name as his great-grandfather, Luther Buford Wheeler, served as commander of the battle re-enactment for three years and often provided heavy equipment to prepare land for the event. The 2004 Battle of Aiken, held in February, was dedicated to Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Francis said.

He is survived by his wife, Grace; his mother, Carrie Banks Wheeler; two daughters, Lisa W. Howard and Leslie M. Wheeler, and a son, Michael Wheeler, all of Aiken; and a sister, E. Ann Wheeler, of Saluda. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Ramey Funeral Home in Saluda. Burial will be in Travis Park Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Savannah River Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 3694, Aiken, SC, 29802.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Shellhouse Rivers Funeral Home in Aiken.

Reach Jim Nesbitt at (803) 648-1395, ext. 111, or jim.nesbitt@augustachronicle.com.