Dorothy Fern Schmidt Wheeler 92, passed away peacefully on March 22, 2013, having been in failing health for the last year. She was the second of five children born to Otto and Amelia Deuter - Schmidt in Culbertson, NE in January 1921. Fern graduated from Culbertson High School at the age of 17. Being too young to enroll in nursing school, she moved to Denver, CO, with a classmate and worked as house maids until they turned 18. She enrolled in the Denver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1939, graduating in 1942 as a certified registered nurse. Her first job was at the VA Hospital in Glen Wood Springs, CO In December 1942 at Chanute Field, IL, she married the very dapper Army Air Corps Lt. Claude Wheeler, whom she had met during nursing school. Claude and Fern spent a wonderful, loving, joyous life together and had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in December 2002, three months before Claude's passing in 2003. In 1943 while Claude was in pilot training, Fern followed him through his four phases of flight training at Randolph Field, Stamford and Greenville, TX, and Fredrick, OK. At each of these locations, she did private duty nursing or worked in small hospitals. Claude's first duty station was Big Spring, TX; and Fern worked in the local hospital. One day she was called upon to provide nursing care to a civilian VIP seriously injured in an automobile accident. This required her to strap on a parachute over her white dress uniform so she could accompany her patient who was being airlifted on a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber to Oklahoma City, OK. She was one of the first civilian flight nurses. Wherever Claude was stationed, there were always nursing positions for her to fill. When Claude retired from the USAF as a Lt. Col. in 1959, they moved to Billings, MT, where Fern worked as a night nursing supervisor at the Billings Deaconess Hospital. Her goal was always to provide the best care to her patients and best nursing supervision possible, so in 1962 she pursued a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Montana State University. In 1967 when Claude was transferred to Tucson with his second career, the Boy Scouts of America, Fern went to visit a friend in the Tucson VA Hospital. A nursing colleague on the VA staff recognized her and offered her a job as a night supervisor. She went to work the next night. She also enrolled in the first Masters of Science in Nursing Degree Program and upon graduation began a 25-year career with the Tucson VA Medical in the Kidney Dialysis department. She became one of the pioneers in providing training to patients requiring in home peritoneal dialysis. She traveled throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Northern Mexico, providing her dedication, expertise, knowledge, and empathy to countless veterans needing care. Fern retired from the VA Nursing Service at the age of 70, spending nearly 50 years as a member of the nursing profession. She was an active and devoted member of the Catalina United Methodist Church, serving as a Stephen Minister, a member of the United Methodist Women, the Morford Sunday School Class and Tres Cruces. Memorials in her memory should be given to the Catalina United Methodist Church Memorial Fund, 2700 E. Speedway Blvd, 85716. Dorothy Fern Schmidt Wheeler was preceded in death by her parents, Otto and Amelia Schmidt; her loving, devoted and adoring husband of 60 years, Claude; brothers, Robert and Raymond; and grandson, Kevin Hadley-Wheeler. Survivors include two sons, Col, USAF, (Ret) Michael (Estelle) Wheeler, Midlothian, TX, and Tim (Martha Anne) Wheeler, Globe, AZ; three grandsons, Stuart Wheeler, Everett, WA, Lance (Amanda) Wheeler Midlothian, TX, and Micah Wheeler, Tucson, AZ; two granddaughters, Kyle Wheeler, Saginaw, TX, and Ruth (Dusty) Wold, Watrous, NM; eight great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Betty (LeRoy) Cook, Culbertson, NE, and Eileen Wacker, Raleigh, NC. A special thanks from the Wheeler family goes to Martha Moody, Fern's longtime church friend and caregiver. A Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, April 20, 2013, at Catalina United Methodist Church. Arrangements by ADAIR FUNERAL HOMES, Dodge Chapel.