February 9, 2012
Dear F-M Alumni,
A belated thank you to all the “F-Mers” who remembered me on my 90th birthday! You can’t imagine how much I appreciated them. Perhaps you won’t believe this but I did recognize each and every name. I’ve always been able to retain names, and it meant a lot to me to recognize each and every one of yours.
Marilyn, my wife of nearly 67 years, and I are now living at Maple Downs, an independent retirement community. She is wheelchair- bound so trying to live in our house was no longer practical.
Our oldest son, David, with his wife Daryll (Fitch) still live in Fayetteville, as do three of their grown daughters and six of their grandchildren. It helps to have them near.
Let me share an aside. I came to teach at Fayetteville in 1948 and retired in 1983. David became principal at Wellwood Middle School in F-M in 1981 and spent 20 years there. He retired (or tried to)in 2001. Father Yeazel, the pastor at Holy Cross, talked him into becoming the principal at Holy Cross School in Dewitt. Though it was supposed to be a “retirement job,” it turned out to be a 10 year stint. They both (D&D) retired (Daryll from staff development at OCMBOCES) on June 30th, 2012. Meanwhile, one of their daughters, Elizabeth (Biz), was appointed to the English department at the High School where she is now in her 11th year. That adds up to 64 straight continuous years that a Wheeler has been a teacher or administrator at FM. I’m kind of proud of that.
Again, thank you all so much for the kind remarks, recollections, thoughts, and best wishes. It is very comforting to me to revisit your notes and cards from time to time.
With Love,
Mr. Platt Wheeler
C/O Maple Downs Room 101
7220 E. Genesee St
Fayetteville, N.Y. 13066-1171
(Dave Wheeler - dwheeler45@hotmail.com)
