Former Sen. Wheeler Dead At 75

Former Republican state Sen. Harold 'Potch' Wheeler, Larwill, died Monday after battling bone cancer. He was 75.

Wheeler served Senate District 17 in northern Indiana from 1983 to 2002, and was majority caucus chairman before he retired.

"He was a person you could talk to," said Avis Gunter, Kosciusko County commissioner, today. "He did care about the people he represented."

Gunter said Wheeler would attend whatever functions in Kosciusko County that he could. She'd known him since he was put into office as a senator "too long ago."

Wheeler is survived by his wife, Darlene; his children, Johnna, Kim and Tara; seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

His obituary appears on page 3A of today's newspaper.