Capturing
CSULB history • This
photo ran in an early edition of the
Daily Forty-Niner. The photo, taken
by Ira Mark Gostin, shows Ted Wheeler
and son Mikey walking through campus
during finals week.
CSULB love story shows family
legacies, memories
My first semester at Cal State Long Beach was in the fall of ’79. I had
just graduated from high school where I had been very involved and popular.
But I was intimidated during my first year at CSULB and kept to myself. That
year was nice, but I was too shy and didn’t speak to anyone. I decided
the following year I would be more outgoing and try to meet people.
The first day of my second year of college I remember sitting in the front row
of my calculus II class. In the front row next to me was a nice young man who
was also trying to add the class. I struck up a conversation with him because,
remember, my new resolution was to be more outgoing.
The young man’s name was Ted. He was very nice.
The following weeks were really fun. I looked forward to calculus because I was
able to sit next to Ted and find out about him. I remember being pretty nosey.
By three weeks I knew about his family, his school history, where he worked,
all of his old girlfriends’ names and who broke up with whom and the reasons.
I was myself around him and he accepted me for being me.
After the first date I thought he was a little childish and although he was six
and a half years older than me, I felt I was more mature.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about him after the first date. However, I’m
not quite sure what happened that following week. We saw each other every day
and he took me to nice restaurants.
He was a gentleman beyond belief. From our first date he set the rule that I
wasn’t to open any doors with him; he would take care of it. That had always
been important to me because I had never found a guy before who was that chivalrous.
I really felt comfortable around him and enjoyed spending all of my extra time
with Ted.
I knew I was falling in love with him. I had always been mature for my age, was
a “straight ‘A’ student” in high school, followed all
rules, never smoked or drank (still haven’t) while Ted was all about fun.
He lived life to the fullest.
He enjoyed the outdoors, was a joker, close to his family, like I was. He had
not been a terrific student in high school, cut class and had smoked. I used
to tell him there is no way I would have ever dated him if I had met him then.
My birthday is Oct. 29 and for my birthday that year, two months after we met
in class, he proposed. I had been the only girl in that calculus class and now
I was engaged to the nice young man I happened to sit next to on that first day
of school.
We were married the following summer on June 6, 1981. I had known him a whopping
10 months. Pretty crazy!
We had our first son, Michael Owen Wheeler, during our first year of marriage.
I remember my parents being so worried I would drop out of school. I told them
that was not a possibility.
I had known since fifth grade I wanted to be a high school mathematics teacher.
I knew that wasn’t possible without a bachelor’s degree. Dropping
out or even taking a semester off was not in my future.
Ted worked on his engineering degree but he had to change it to industrial technology
because he couldn’t focus enough to pass calculus II. I continued working
on my bachelor’s degree in mathematics and we both worked during those
first years of marriage while raising our son. It was difficult but we succeeded.
During finals we would bring Mikey with us. While Ted was in class I would watch
Mikey, and when I was in class we would switch. During finals someone from the
Daily Forty-Niner saw Ted on the steps walking Mikey. They took their picture
and it made the front page.
Ted finished his degree in December of ’85. We went through the graduation
ceremonies together in May of 1986. Mikey was there to see us graduate, which
was very exciting.
Ted was hired before graduation by Northrop. It was the beginning of a wonderful
career. He became a manager and loved every day of it.
I was hired through an on-campus interview by the Downey Unified School District
and have been in my same classroom ever since.
As Mikey grew into Michael, he attended Warren High School where I teach. He
went right to CSULB after graduation and began following his father’s footsteps
in engineering.
On April 23, 2004 our lives changed forever. Ted was on his way to a camping
trip to meet up with some of his Northrop friends when his Jeep hit the side
of the road somewhere in Needles, Calif. and flipped.
Being the adventurous Ted he always was, he didn’t have the top or doors
on. When the Jeep flipped he was killed instantly, even though he was buckled
in.
The police came to our house at 1:30 a.m. with the horrible news. Mikey was the
first of my three children I had to tell. I’ll never forget the look on
his face when I gave him the news. I woke my other two children, Kevin and Katlyn,
and we sat for the next six hours contemplating what we were going to do.
How were our lives ever going to be the same? The answer: We would never be the
same.
We were able to get through the next hours that turned into days and then into
weeks, but we were so lucky to be surrounded by many friends and family.
Ted’s funeral was, it is strange to say, amazing. Over 500 people showed
up.
When Michael and Ted’s sister, Emmie, gave the eulogy, it was so heartfelt.
Michael began by saying how he was always so proud of his Dad and how he was
so lucky to be able to stand in front of so many people and tell them how great
his father was.
Two years have passed and we think and talk about Ted every day. I know he is
so proud of Michael, Kevin and Katlyn. On May 26, Ted will be looking down on
the engineering graduation ceremony and smiling, proudly watching our “little
Mikey” cross that stage and receive his bachelor's degree in engineering.
My family began because of CSULB. This institution continues to be a part of
the foundation of my family. I am so very proud of the accomplishments Michael
has achieved.
From his first debut in the Daily Forty-Niner when he was only one year old to
his graduation now that he is 24, CSULB has been an integral part of his life.
His younger brother and sister, presently in eleventh and ninth grade, are not
too far behind.
We will have our names engraved on three bricks this year so that Ted, Teresa,
and Michael will always have a permanent place here at CSULB. I miss Ted every
day and although he will miss what would have been our 25th wedding anniversary
this year, it is so wonderful to see his characteristics — like his zest
for life and determination to reach goals — in my children. This is truly
a CSULB love story.
Teresa Wheeler is an alumna of Cal State Long Beach, Class of 1987.
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