Harman Edward Wheeler

Wheeler, Harman, 87, of St. Petersburg, died Sunday May 13, 2007 at home under the care of hospice. He was born in Thomasville, GA and was raised in Tallahassee, FL. He graduated from Leon High School in 1937 and began his banking career in Tallahassee with the Capital City Bank. He was an Air Force Army Air Corps veteran, having served in England as an Engineering Officer for the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang fighter airplanes during WWII. He was discharged with the rank of Major. After the war, he continued his banking career as one of the original officers of the Tallahassee Bank and Trust Company. He moved to Tampa in 1955 and organized the First Industrial Savings Bank of Tampa that later became the Northside Bank of Tampa. He was president and CEO of the Northside bank for 13 years. At the request of Jim Walter, he moved to St. Petersburg in 1967 and served as president and CEO of the First National bank of St. Petersburg until 1974 when he retired. In 1975 he came out of retirement and served as president of the Flagship Bank of Tampa for 2 years where he retired again. He was a member of The Suncoasters for 40 years and was Mister Sun in 1989. He was also a member of ?Ye Mystic Crewe? of Gasparilla, St. Petersburg Yacht Club, Yachting Rotarians, YMCA, Museum of Fine Arts, board member of the United Way, Salvation Army, Sister City committee, and Bayfront Medical Center. He had a passion for sailing and for 10 years took their boat ?Madre Maria? to the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. In addition he and his wife were invited to sail with Dick and Mary Jane Miesner on a number of their around the world trips on their yacht ?Tonga?. He and Mary made numerous trips around the country in their motor home, visiting friends. For the past 20 years, he and Mary spent the summers in their home in Waynesville, NC. He was preceded in death by his eldest son James Harman Wheeler. He is survived by his wife of 60 years: Mary Collins Wheeler; their 4 sons: John Patrick Wheeler, St. Petersburg, William Collins Wheeler, Tampa, FL, Gordon Lee Wheeler, Tallahassee, FL, and Samuel Howell Wheeler, St. Petersburg, FL; his brother: James Gordon Wheeler, Lakeland, FL; his sister: Mary Lea Humphress, Tallahassee, FL; 3 grandsons: John Andrew Wheeler, Joseph Patrick Wheeler, and Michael Edward Wheeler, all of St. Petersburg; a granddaughter: Jeanie Bastien, St. Petersburg and great-granddaughter: Rain Bastien; and several nieces, nephews and cousins in Tallahassee. Memorial donations may be made in his name to the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg, 70 - 35th St. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33711, the Salvation Army of St. Petersburg, P.O. Box 10909, St. Petersburg, FL 33733, The Mighty 8th Air Force Heritage Museum, P.O. Box 1992, Savannah, GA 31402, or to a charity of your choice. Anderson-McQueen Funeral & Cremation Centers - NE St. Petersburg