BELL CITY, Mo. -- Marion Eugene "Gene" Wheeler, 83, of Bell City died Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

He was born Jan. 16, 1919, at Bell City, son of Claude and Myra Harvey Wheeler. He and Imogene Patrick were married April 3, 1947, in Greenwood, Ind.

Wheeler was a rural mail carrier many years.

He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Survivors include his wife; a son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Nancy Wheeler of Sikeston, Mo.; a daughter and son-in-law, Becky and Joe Karnes of Sikeston; two granddaughters and husbands, Suzanne (Karnes) and David Lambert of Sikeston, Tara (Wheeler) and William Eddy of Belleville, Ill.; a great-granddaughter, Makenzie Eddy of Belleville; and three brothers, Herbert Wheeler of West Lake Village, Calif., Clifford Wheeler of Cape Girardeau, and Ray Wheeler of St. Joseph, Mo.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, James and Russell Wheeler.

Friends may call at Morgan Funeral Home in Advance, Mo., from 5 to 8 p.m. today.

The funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. The Rev. Linda Zych will officiate. Burial will be in Pleasant Grove Cemetery at Bell City.