Bernard Francis “Bern” Wheel of Oak Park, Illinois died July 16, 2026. He was born on August 12, 1929, in Burlington, Vermont to Irene Abair and Alfred Wheel. His father was a typesetter in a print shop; his mother worked in a textile mill. Bern had two brothers. In the late 1970s, Bern and his wife Marie were moved by the plight of the Vietnamese boat people seeking refugee assistance. They decided to take […]
