Michael Wheelis

Michael Wheelis passed away peacefully at his home in Salem, Oregon, with his wife and daughters by his side after a six-month battle with metastatic colon cancer. He was 75 years old.

Born in Pecos, Texas, the youngest of seven children to Thomas Bryant Wheelis and Lois Ellen Galloway Wheelis, Mike moved with his family to Maricopa, Arizona at age 15 to help run the family cotton farm. After high school, he briefly attended Arizona State University before enlisting in the Army National Guard. Encouraged by fellow officers, he joined the Phoenix Police Department, graduating from the academy in 1972. Over the next two decades, he served as a patrol officer, hostage negotiator, night detective, sex crimes detective, and homicide detective, while also becoming an ALEOAC instructor.

Mike married Debra on August 19, 1978, and together they raised two daughters, Melissa and Erin. He was a devoted father who coached his daughters’ softball teams and middle-school boys in Pop Warner football, while finding time for occasional fishing trips. After being seriously wounded in the line of duty on September 4, 1991, he demonstrated remarkable courage by providing critical information that protected fellow officers and civilians, earning a Citation for Medal of Valor. Following a year of recovery, he retired from the police department in 1992 and began a second career in education, teaching and coaching at Payson High School, where he contributed to the 1997 3A Arizona State Football Championship team as a defensive coach. He later served as a district administrator, assistant principal, and continued coaching while teaching in Riverside, California.

Mike is survived by his wife, Debra, daughters Melissa Boeck (husband Gerrit) and Erin Wheelis, and grandchildren Emily Louderback (husband Caden), Elijah Boeck, and John Thomas Boeck. He is also survived by his sisters Barbara Nelson, Ann Niese, Marie McClendon, and Marilyn Lowery, his brother Thomas Wheelis, and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, and dear friends. His infectious laugh, deep love for family, and adventurous spirit will be remembered and deeply missed by all who knew him.