Betty Ann (Owens) Wheeler, 93, of Concord MA, died peacefully at her home on April 16th, 2021, with her family present. She was the beloved wife of Richard W. Wheeler, who died in April 2020, and they enjoyed a strong marriage of 70 years. She was a caring mother and grandmother to five children and two grandchildren, and will be remembered for her uncommon beauty, quick wit and strong will, as well as her gracious hospitality and thoughtfulness. Born in Medford, MA on February 2, 1928, Betty Ann was the daughter of Albert Waffle Owens and Vallie (Fallon) Owens. She grew up in Belmont, MA and by her early teens was already an accomplished young woman. She played piano and danced at the New England Conservatory of Music and, at the age of 14, was named the very first "Miss Marsha Jordan" of Jordan Marsh department store in Boston, MA. Chosen for her poise and style, she was the store's brand ambassador to teenage girls during her high school years. In 1945, Betty Ann graduated from Belmont High School, where she met her future husband, Rick Wheeler, and went on to study English literature at Wheaton College in Norton, MA. While at Wheaton, she served on the Jordan Marsh College Board, was an advisor to their College Shop and was prominently featured in their campaigns. In 1949, she received her BA from Wheaton, and she completed her career at the Jordan Marsh Company in 1950. After Betty Ann and Rick married in 1950, she moved to Williamstown, MA, where they lived until he graduated from Williams College in 1952. During those years, she industriously supported the young couple by working numerous jobs--including typing papers for Rick's classmates, which she delivered with a measure of free dating advice. In 1953, Betty Ann and Rick, along with their growing family, moved to Asia for his career with First National City Bank (Citibank). For 16 years, they lived in Hong Kong, Manila and Tokyo and, in the tradition of overseas banking families, she served alongside her husband. Rick always said he was hired because of Betty Ann, for she was recognized as an adept diplomat on their international travels and a genteel hostess of dinner parties and convivial, informal gatherings at home. She and her family moved back to the United States in 1969, and settled in Bronxville, NY where she was a consummate volunteer for the Girl Scouts, Jansen Memorial Hospice, Meals on Wheels and Planned Parenthood, and taught English as a second language. Likewise, Betty Ann was an active layperson in each of the Episcopal Church parishes the family belonged to, including Trinity Church in Concord, MA where she and Rick retired in 1993. There she continued her longstanding service in the Altar Guild and as a lay reader and greeter. In Concord, she put her green thumb to work with "Seeds and Weeds," volunteered at the Concord Free Public Library and renewed her regular bridge games with Wheaton classmates and Concord friends. She was known as an astute card player, and she was a welcome partner and a formidable foe when playing bridge or cribbage. Betty Ann had a quick and precise mind, nurtured by her family's dedication to education. The Owens family had an influential connection to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, dating back to 1880. Her grandfather, William Gundy Owens, was a professor of chemistry and taught there and in Shanghai, China for over 55 years. Her grandmother, Florence Jeanette "Nettie" Owens, a vocal advocate for women's suffrage, earned both her BA and her MA in History at Bucknell while in her 70s, during the 1930s. John Gundy Owens, her uncle, who as a noted enthnologist and archaeologist, led the 1892 Harvard Peabody expedition to Copan, Honduras, which unearthed the Heiroglyphic Staircase. Betty Ann's father, Albert, graduated from Bucknell, then received his doctorate of chemistry from the University of Illinois; he later worked at MIT in Cambridge, MA and served on the Atomic Energy Commission. Her mother, Vallie Fallon, who was the first to attend college in her family, graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1919. Reading, gardening and travel were among Betty Ann's many interests and she particularly loved classical music, which she and Rick enjoyed as season ticket holders to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for over 20 years. They delighted in attending concerts together and the ritual of greeting friends on their regular Friday afternoons at Symphony Hall. Her involvement with Nadeshiko-kai, an organization dedicated to cultural exchange between American and Japanese women, kept her in touch with international friends. And, as in Bronxville and abroad, she welcomed new friends and old to their historic, Concord home and their Cape Cod house, Windrift, in Marstons Mills, MA. With her table elegantly set and surrounded by guests and friends, she was truly in her element. Betty Ann is survived by her children and their spouses, Emily, Susan and Constantine, Thomas and Sandy, Alice and Debianne, Sarah and Eric; grandchildren Barrett and Clara; and her cousins. She was predeceased by her husband, Richard Wheeler, and her sister, Jeanne (Owens) Libby. Family and friends are invited to the funeral service and celebration of the lives of Rick and Betty Ann on Saturday, October 9th at 1:30 pm in Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord, with a reception immediately following. For those unable to attend in person, the service may be viewed at www.trinityconcord.org. Private interment will be held at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, gifts in her memory may be made to the Concord Free Public Library , c/o Development Office, 129 Main Street, Concord, MA 01742. Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.