Grady Bernard Wheeler of LaFayette died Thursday, Aug. 21. He was 73. He was born on Wheeler farm, just north of LaFayette, on March 16, 1935 and died there 73 years later. For 54 of those years, he shared his life on the farm with JoAnn Hood Wheeler, who he married in 1954. After attending Clemson College, he volunteered for the U.S. Army Reserve and served eight years. From 1956 to 1958, he served on active duty as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, service that he always remembered with pride. When he returned home after leaving the Army, he and JoAnn joined her father, Z.S. Hood, in operating Tri-City Concrete Inc. In 1962, the three formed a sister company, Tri-City Construction Co. Bernard oversaw the construction of many build-ings that are still in use locally, such as the Walker County Library, in addition to building many roads and bridges. In 1982, after deciding with JoAnn and her father to sell the construction company, Bernard became chief executive officer of the Walker County Bank. When the Walker County Bank merged with Cohutta Banking Co., Bernard served that bank as senior vice president/regional executive and president of the LaFayette office until his retirement in 1996. Throughout his life, Bernard enjoyed participating in a number of local civic organizations. He was an active member of the LaFayette Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce for many years; he enjoyed singing with the Chattanooga Choo-Choo chorus; recently, he enjoyed the local Chickamauga Antique Tractor Club. Church membership was always a central part of his life. In his boyhood, he attended Center Point Baptist Church, where his father was a deacon, and as an adult, he was a member of First Baptist Church of LaFayette, where he served in many ways, most notably as a deacon and member of the choir. After his retirement, Bernard spent his time in the way that gave him most joy — working in the farm beside his son Chip. Survivors include his wife, JoAnn; son, Grady Bernard Jr. (Chip); daughter, Ann Marie; sister and brother-in-law, Mary Frances and Don Creighton; his niece and nephew, Cathy Hyatt and Jim Creighton; brother-in-law, Don Four-man; husband of his sister, the late Mayree Wheeler Fourman, as well as many lifelong friends. Services: Saturday, Aug. 23, at 11 a.m. at LaFayette First Baptist Church with Dr. Todd Gaddis officiating. Burial: LaFayette Memory Gardens. Visitation: Friday, Aug. 22, from 6-8 p.m. Pallbearers: Jim Creighton, Bill Loughridge, Larry Murkerson, Maurice Shattuck, Phil Shattack, Randy Street. Honorary pallbearers: Malcolm Nelson, Dan Priest, Mel Price, deacons of the LaFayette First Baptist Church, Hill Pope Sunday School Class. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Memorial Fund of the LaFayette First Baptist Church. Arrangements by Wallis-Wilbanks Funeral Home, LaFayette.