Monica Wheaton Obituary

Monica Mary Mangan Wheaton passed away peacefully on January 11, 2024. She was 87 years old.

Monica was born on November 3, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, and was the oldest child of James and Anna (Farrell) Mangan. She grew up in Manhattan and earned academic scholarships to Immaculata High School and then St. Joseph's College for Women in Brooklyn, where she earned a B.A. degree in English. She married her husband, Capt. William C. Wheaton, USN (ret.) in 1959, after meeting at a national Junior Achievement event. For the first 20 years of their marriage, she focused on raising their three sons and volunteer work for the Navy Relief Society in the various Navy communities in which they lived. She was recognized for her Navy Relief work in multiple communities, and was the Navy Relief Volunteer of the Year in Hampton Roads in 1978. She was also a Cub Scout Den Mother for each of her sons.

Monica began her full-time teaching career in 1979, and taught English at Great Bridge High School until her retirement (with a brief detour to Oscar F. Smith High School during the early 1980s). She completed her M.A. degree at Old Dominion University. Monica was lured into the world of competitive high school speech and debate as a volunteer driver, and ultimately became a renowned speech and debate coach in Virginia and nationally. Monica was a fixture in the tabulation ("tab") room of the Tidewater Debate League for decades, continuing that work as well as volunteer coaching long after her retirement from teaching. She was honored as Virginia's debate coach of the year in 2003, was a National Forensics League Diamond Key coach, and was inducted into the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame in 2023. Her speech and debate students have gone on to national success in numerous fields.

After many Navy-induced moves, Monica and Bill made Chesapeake their home beginning in 1974. Monica was a founding parishioner of Prince of Peace Catholic Church and was a volunteer and the lector coordinator there for many years. She was a member of the Chesapeake Library Board and the Alpha Delta Kappa women educators sorority.

Monica is survived by her husband, Bill; sons, Jim (Laurie) of Williamsburg; Pat (Laura) of Statesboro, Georgia; and Mark of Chesapeake; by her grandchildren, Mary, Annie, Will, Hannah, Johnny, and Austin. She is also survived by her brothers, Chuck and Tom. She was predeceased by her sister, Kathryn (Kitty) and brother, Joe.

A requiem Mass to celebrate Monica's life will be held on Friday, January 19, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Prince of Peace Catholic Church at 621 Cedar Road in Chesapeake, Virginia. A wake and visitation with Monica's family will be held on Thursday, January 18, 2024 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Chesapeake Chapel at 1416 Cedar Road.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Covenant House (www.covenanthouse.org) or to St. Francis Breadline, 135 W 31st St., New York, NY 10001. Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com.

Finally, the family would like to extend a special thanks to Wings Over Virginia Hospice (www.wovhospice.com) for the extraordinary compassionate care they provided Monica in the final days of her life.' Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com