Linda Wheeler

(From Parker Mortuary)

Linda C. Wheeler, age 76, of Joplin, Missouri, passed away June 2, 2023. 

Linda began her long life at St. John’s Hospital on February 4, 1947, the daughter of Verne G. Wheeler and Margie C. Souder Wheeler. Her parents and her beloved older brother, David G. Wheeler, preceded her in death. 

She grew up in prospering postwar South Joplin and attended Joplin High School where she acquired life-long friends. After graduation, Linda studied at Missouri Southern State College and the University of Missouri- Kansas City.

 

Linda lived most of her life in Joplin, but she also spent significant periods residing in Phoenix, St. Louis, and New Orleans. She traveled widely, and identified Toledo, Spain, as her favorite medieval urban maze for exploration. Later she was a patient and compassionate caregiver for her elderly parents. Linda was interested in art, nature, history, theology, science, poetry, and politics, and was always an informed and engaging conversationalist. 

She married Delaware-born artist James McCaffery and served as the matriarch of the family for her three stepchildren, Simon, Isaias, and Claire, and their children, over the many years following her husband’s passing in 1999. 

Trained by McCaffery, Linda painted and sold hundreds of watercolor paintings during her years in New Orleans from the late 1970s through the early 1990s and continued to paint for many years after retiring. 

While her health permitted, she often attended Peace Lutheran Church and volunteered at Freeman Hospital. She was at the hospital for long hours assisting incoming victims after the 2011 F5 Joplin tornado. Linda enjoyed her cats, reading, watching British mysteries, and visiting with friends and relatives.

Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Parker Mortuary, Joplin, Missouri. Family will host a celebration of life at a later date.