Bernard Francis “Bern” Wheel, 96, of Oak Park, died on July 16, 2026. Born on Aug. 12, 1929, in Burlington, Vermont to Irene Abair and Alfred Wheel, he attended St. Joseph School, Cathedral High School, and St. Michael College, all in Burlington and took full advantage of the Vermont outdoors. He was an Eagle Scout, and for eight years was the waterfront director at Holy Cross Camp run by the Diocese of Burlington. He also led hiking trips up Mt. Mansfield, and enjoyed snowshoeing during the long Vermont winters.
He also attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and the Grand Séminaire de Montréal in Canada. Ordained a diocesan priest at St. Joseph Cathedral in Burlington, he served for 17 years in the Burlington Diocese prior to leaving the priesthood, then set out on a cross-country trip, traveling to the West Coast and winding his way back to Chicago, where he had much earlier taken a gap year with friends. In Chicago, he met Marie Keefe at a gathering in Hyde Park, the neighborhood where he lived. The two married on the Feast of St. Ignatius in 1970 and became residents of Oak Park, Marie’s hometown.
He worked as an accountant at Chicago Osteopathic Hospital and then at Urban Gateways. In the late ’70s, moved by the plight of the Vietnamese boat people seeking refugee assistance, he and Marie decided to take action. Over the course of 10 years, they welcomed 14 people, ranging in age from 11 to 80, into their home, providing them refuge while helping them acclimate to life in the U.S.
As longtime parishioners at St. Catherine-St. Lucy Parish, they set the standard for steadfastness regarding their connection to parishioners and those served by the parish. They were respected for their quiet leadership and guidance.
Generous and joyful, one of Bern’s hobbies was learning Esperanto, an intentional global language designed to promote world peace.
Bern was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers, his in-laws, Marie’s siblings, and three nieces and nephews. He is survived by Marie, his wife of 56 years; 39 nieces and nephews; and the extended families of the many Vietnamese individuals they housed.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Edmund Church in Oak Park on Aug. 12 (which would have been Bern’s 97th birthday) at 11 a.m. Visitation will immediately precede Mass, starting at 10 a.m.