Walter Andrew “W.A.” Wheat passed from this life in Lubbock, Texas, on January 21, 2022. He was born August 6, 1932 in Carthage, Missouri, to Kenneth Brashears Wheat and Mabel Alice (Hall) Wheat.
W.A. was raised on the family farm three miles east of Carthage. He began his education in a one-room school house and graduated a year early from Carthage High School in 1949. W.A. played saxophone in the Carthage High School Tiger Band and was very active in Future Farmers of America. W. A. was baptized at the age of 12 years old and was a life-long, active member of the Christian Church.
After graduation, W.A. worked for Industrial Supply in Joplin, Missouri, and attended business school. Later, he enrolled in Ozark Bible College in Joplin, earning a Bachelor of Sacred Literature degree and becoming an ordained Christian Church minister.
W.A. met Charlotte Fay Barrick at OBC, and they were married on April 6, 1956. They moved from Missouri to Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1968. In 1985, W.A. was transferred to Artesia, New Mexico, as a manager for T-Bird Home Centers and later became purchasing agent for Penasco Valley Telephone Co-op (PVT) in Artesia. W.A. was born with a gift for carpentry. He was an accomplished handyman who could fix anything and also a skilled retail business manager.
The Wheats moved to Lubbock, Texas, in 2004.
W.A. loved to work and help others. He enjoyed fishing, doing crosswords, playing Skip-Bo, and taking care of their dogs, Cuddles, Dusty and Missy. W. A. had a good bass voice and took great delight in singing hymns with the family. W.A. and Charlotte also liked traveling to the New Mexico mountains and around the United States in their motor home.
W.A. was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife Charlotte Fay Wheat; daughter Cheryl and husband, Brian Luginbill of Midland, TX; daughter Susan Wheat of Carthage, MO; son Wayne and wife, Paulette Wheat, of Lubbock, TX; granddaughter Dr. Sarah Luginbill of San Antonio, TX; grandson Alfie Wheat and foster-grandson, Mason Williams, both of Lubbock. W.A. is also survived by his brother Kenneth W. Wheat and his sister Naydene Cunningham, both of Carthage, MO, as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A memorial service for W.A. will be held at 1 pm, Friday, January 28, 2022 at Carillion Chapel in Lubbock. Burial of the cremains will take place in March at a graveside service in Avilla Cemetery at Avilla, Missouri, ten miles east of Carthage, where many of W.A.’s ancestors and family members are interred.
