Esta C. Wheatley, 79, of rural Wabash, Indiana, died 1:44 pm, Friday, April 2, 2021, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne. She was born on June 17, 1941, in Bedford, Indiana, to Ralph and Margaret (Colburn) Pannell.
Esta married William Oliver “Bill” Wheatley on April 18, 1962, he died on June 6, 2011. She was a 1960 graduate of Frankfort High School. Esta was the owner of Hoosier Point Restaurant for 21 years, Shoes for You in downtown Wabash, and was also Chief Deputy and Matron at the Wabash County Jail for three years. She was a member of Emmanuel Free Will Baptist Church, Wabash and Laketon American Legion Auxiliary. She enjoyed traveling, reading, watching nature, and especially had a passion for her Lord.
She is survived by four children, Todd (Dixie) Wheatley, Sheila (Glenn) Butcher, and Sandy (Bryan) Beeks, and her chosen daughter, Connie Rich, all of Wabash, seven grandchildren, Josh (Emily Airgood) Butcher and Tabitha (NathanWelch) Butcher, both of Warsaw, Indiana, Lauren Rich, Carson Rich, Connor Rich, Navon Sharp, Helen Butcher, and a great-grandson, Grayson Butcher, all of Wabash, Indiana, brother, David Pannell of California. She was also preceded in death by her parents, and her grandson, Cody Beeks.
Funeral services will be 10:30 am, Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Emmanuel Free Will Baptist Church, 129 Southwood Drive, Wabash, with Rev. Terry Hinds officiating. Burial will be in Friends Cemetery, Wabash. Friends may call 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Wednesday and one hour prior to the service Thursday, at the church. Arrangements by Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, Wabash.
Preferred memorial is Wabash Conservation Club or Emmanuel Free Will Baptist Church.
The memorial guest book for Esta may be signed at www.grandstaff-hentgen.com.