Engineer lived by commitment to building better community

Nancy Wheatley, 72, was RRC Polytech leader, school board trustee

By: Janine LeGal

Gifted with a keen mind and an approach to life that embodied leading by example, Nancy Wheatley came up through a time when women were expected to include their height and weight on their resumés and newspaper articles commented on their appearance — like one tagline about her that read: “Not just a pretty face.”

Wheatley was one of three graduating women from the University of Toronto’s faculty of engineering in 1973. Her industrial engineering degree led to holding prominent leadership roles at General Electric and Levi’s.

As Canadian General Electric’s first female sales engineer, she led the way for other women, through successfully gaining acceptance with customers and marketing contacts, and exceeding projections for heavy apparatus sales.

With more than 16 years at Red River College Polytechnic as an instructor, co-ordinator in math and science in the trades and technology, chair of civil engineering technology, employee rep on the board, chair of college council, and dean of construction and engineering technologies, she became a role model and inspiration.

Wheatley’s son Peter adored his mother — who died Sept. 2, at 72 — and wasn’t afraid to tell her.

“My mom sacrificed immensely for us. My mom was the smartest person I knew, outdone only by her kindness. My mom could have easily been a president or CEO of wherever she worked. Instead, she, too, (like my father) switched careers to ensure she had her summers off with us growing up. Those were some amazing years — road-tripping for hockey or Disney World or to see our cousins across the country,” he says.

“My mom. Gawd, I love my mom. I think I’ve told my mom I love her more in the past six months than I have in the past six years. I’m so proud of my mom and dad. My parents are my heroes.”

RRC Polytech vice-president Ken Webb first met Wheatley when they worked together at the Winnipeg-based school.

“As a department head and then dean, Nancy was a strong, innovative and student-centred leader. She was respected by her team, had the confidence of industry and always knew how to get things done,” Webb says.

“Good leaders can see the future; great leaders can take their team on the journey to confidently and safely get from where they are to where they are going. Perhaps one of the best examples was Nancy’s leadership in helping to create and implement the college’s first-degree program in construction management.”

As a hockey mom to three sons, Wheatley was in her fifties when she earned her masters of arts and education degree in a record 2 1/2 years— while she was instructing full-time.

Lifelong learning remained important to Wheatley, which she integrated smoothly into her busy life, using her ability to organize, plan and manage her schedule. Amid all of her professional accomplishments, her love for her husband, three sons, and grandchildren, always came first.

She relished time with family and friends at the family’s Victoria Beach cottage, had a passion for dance, enjoyed gathering with neighbours and hosting holiday festivities. Her commitment to building a better community through serving as a school trustee and on boards, volunteering with charities and non-profits came a close second.

When Ted Fransen arrived at Pembina Trails School Division during the summer of 2005, Wheatley had been serving as trustee for about six years.

“It was my privilege to be seated next to her around the board table during our public sessions,” said the recently retired superintendent. “She was a kind, gentle, and wise member of an amazing and dedicated group of elected officials.

“She was always ready to share from her considerable repertoire of experiences and reading. She was someone who believed in shining a light on the positive, and giving gentle nudges for looking at an issue from multiple perspectives. What struck me about Nancy was that it was always about the kids. It was never about her.”

In 2017, at 66, Wheatley retired to pursue travel and family adventures.

Born in 1951, she grew up in Toronto, where she met her soulmate Paul Wheatley when they were both 16. They fell in love while working summer jobs at a local restaurant and quickly became inseparable, ultimately sharing 55 years together. In 1986, the couple moved to Winnipeg.

Paul vividly remembers working together at the restaurant where they met and their subsequent love story.

“We were doing the same job. I made 10 cents per hour more because I was the male. She had more money at the end of the week in tips because of her smile,” he says.

‘She did a great job with the boys: three sons, all engineers like their mother. She was a marvellous, beautiful person. My best friend. My love. She was the smartest person in the room; she’d make you think that you were. She was always doing for others. It was about the other person, it was never about her.”

The couple had been looking ahead to many more years together, when cancer struck.

Their 50th wedding anniversary was coming up Sept. 1, 2023, and plans moved forward as scheduled. Held at the Leaf horticultural attraction in Winnipeg, and hosting more than 100 people, Wheatley had meticulously handled every detail.

“She planned the entire 50th after being diagnosed with glioblastoma,” says Paul. “The song that she picked for us to dance to was Perfect Duet by Ed Sheeran. All of the guests at the event danced it on our behalf.”

The anniversary gathering also became a celebration of life, with Paul by her side as Wheatley watched by video from the hospital.

Another of the couple’s sons, Matthew, addressed the unusual circumstance at the event.

“I’m sure most of you by now will have noticed the guests of honour aren’t here. Dad is with Mom at HSC in the ICU, and they are watching and listening in… HSC and CancerCare (Manitoba) have been phenomenal through all of this, and might be listening in, as well, to our unique celebration,” he told the crowd that night.

“It’s worth noting how important today was for mom. From the guest list to the individual appetizers served, every detail was thought out, and gave her a goal.

“She wanted nothing more than for family, friends and neighbours to come together today, as this was a cornerstone of community in her life.”

Wheatley died the day after the celebration.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca