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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Between 250 and 300 people gathered Monday at the Tree of Peace in a celebration of life for long-time Yellowknifer Ross Wheeler, who died of heart failure March 29 at age 70.

Ross Wheeler, seen here at one of his favourite restaurants in Maui in February, died of heart failure March 29 at age 70. Wheeler was a well-known long-time Yellowknifer who served the community for decades as a medical doctor. - photo courtesy of the Wheeler family

The many family members, friends and those whose lives he touched packed into the standing-room-only space to remember him - as a doctor, a friend, a healer and a family man.

"He was the best man I've ever met," said Wheeler's youngest son, Jesse Wheeler. "And I don't mean that because I'm his son and he just recently passed away. He is kind of the standard by which I think I judge other people.

"He was good natured, and warm and willing to listen and support and let you know when he was proud of you, and tell you (that) you were doing a good job. A lot of laughter, a lot of smiles."

Wheeler arrived in Yellowknife in about 1972 with his first wife, Linda Jane, and their three children, Amy, Melissa and Stewart. The family had made the move after Wheeler accepted a position as a military doctor.

"He really got involved in a lot of things" during his early years in Yellowknife, said long-time resident Jan Stirling. "He was very involved with the native community."

Wheeler's first marriage ended when the three children where two, four and six years old and Mary Jane left Yellowknife with the children.

Wheeler later married Yellowknife artist Gail Cyr and the couple had a son, Jesse.

"When you're a little kid and you come up to Yellowknife in the summer to visit your dad, who is one of the only doctors in a small Northern town, you get a little impressed by the fact that walking down the street everyone seems to know your dad," said Stewart Wheeler while giving a eulogy on behalf of himself and his two sisters.

"Going to the YK Super A to get groceries for a camping trip was an amazing experience because it seemed like he stopped to talk with half the town," Stewart said.

Jesse, who was born in Yellowknife in 1981 and lived here until he moved to Vancouver when he was 20 years old, said that while there have been many people reminiscing to him in the last week about how his father had affected them, people have been approaching him to talk about his dad for as long as he can remember.

"He was very well-known around the town," said Jesse. "I remember being a kid and going downtown shopping, and having him talk to it seemed like dozens of people every time."

While Jesse was growing up, his father worked as a general practitioner at the Great Slave Medical Clinic. Later, he worked as an anesthesiologist at Stanton Territorial Hospital before becoming an addictions councillor for the hospital, where he worked until October, 2007.

His work with people struggling with addictions has left a profound impact on many of Yellowknife's downtrodden. He got to know the people hanging about the streets of downtown Yellowknife soon after moving to town and this relationship continued throughout his life, said Stirling.

"I think Ross really cared, you know, about some of the problems that happened in Yellowknife and he tried his best to help in different ways," Stirling said.

What may have gotten Wheeler into working with addictions patients was going into treatment himself in 1987, said Jesse.

"I think that's what kind of turned that key for him," he said. "He wanted to help people overcome their addictions after it had such a profound impact on him."

Family and friends said that this impact could be felt during the celebration of life.

A cross-section of the Yellowknife population attended, from artists to professionals to representatives of the aboriginal communities to people who spend some of their nights on the Yellowknife streets.

"It was wonderful. I think he would have liked it," said Stewart

The Dene drummers opened and closed the celebration. Messages of condolence came from as far away as Hawaii, where he visited often, and Morocco.

Wheeler is survived by his wife Laura, his children Melissa Wheeler-Dee of Kingston, Ont., Amy Wheeler-Reich of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Stewart Wheeler of Ottawa, Jesse Wheeler of Vancouver and seven grandchildren.

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