Wheeler?s family gets dream home

Habitat for Humanity has been making the dream of home ownership come true for families in Warren County since 1998. This year, they?ll make a dream, as well as a last wish, come true for one woman.

Kassie Marie Wheeler asked for a home from the non-profit organization back in 2004, four years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and during the time her family was financially stressed due to the disease.

At that time, the organization wasn?t taking applications but her name was placed on a list to receive the paperwork once they were.

?She wanted her children to have this home,? said Wheeler?s husband, Rich Wheeler. ?She wanted the dream. You know, a house with a white-picket fence and a dog. That?s what she wanted. We had the dog, we just needed the house.?

Wheeler, 40, succumbed to her illness in July 2005 and, ironically, the family received the paperwork in November of that year. Wanting her wish to come true, the family filled out the paperwork and sent it in.

?His wife contacted us about the house before she passed away,? said Habitat secretary and longtime member Kay Ramsey. ?When we got ready to accept applications, we learned she had passed away. We really wanted them to have this house. Rich is the first single father to receive a Habitat house.?

Rich and his four stepchildren, Joseph, James, Seth and Elizabeth, have a move-in date of June 2007.

Although Wheeler passed away before the paperwork was received and the news of the house was given, Wheeler?s husband knows things always work out for the best.

?Everything happens for a reason,? said Rich. ?It might not be the way we thought or what we plan, but things always work out. I know this meant a lot to her. Even though she isn?t here, she is still taking care of the kids. She wanted her family to have a house we could call our own and we will.?

According to Wheeler?s youngest daughter, her mom was a special person who had a fondness for education.

?We had a nickname for her,? said Elizabeth. ?We called her a walking encyclopedia. We would quiz her about things, especially history, and she always knew the answer.?

The house will be a four-bedroom home located in Mt. Leo on land donated by the city of McMinnville.