September 12, 2006 – December 14, 2012

Benjamin Wheeler was born into a very musically-gifted family and both his parents were performers. They both had stage careers in New York City which the left when they moved to Newtown with Benjamin and his older brother, Nate. Ben was a boy scout, enjoyed swimming lessons, played soccer and enjoyed life. He also took piano lessons. His mother Francine is a music educator and singer-songwriter and sang original songs to Ben when he was a baby. Ben’s father, David still writes and performs. Before school on that fateful Friday, “Ben had told his mother he wanted to be an architect — but also a paleontologist. ‘That’s what Nate is going to be and I want to do everything Nate does.’” [1]

Sandy Hook-People gather at Trinity Episcopal Church for the funeral services of Ben Wheeler. He was a Boy Scout. Melanie Stengel/Register Sandy Hook-People

Trinity Episcopal Church was full to capacity Thursday for the funeral. Family and friends waited in a long line outside of the church to pay their respects. About fifty people could not fit inside because of limited space.

Boy Scouts salute as a funeral procession for Benjamin Wheeler enters the Trinity Episcopal Church on December 20, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Dearest Benjamin, you were honored here and will be honored there as a loyal boy scout! Bless your family with peace.

Volunteers construct the new playground at 29^th and West Avenue in Ocean City. (photo: Dale Gerhard/Press of Atlantic City)

Nate Wheeler, Benjamin’s brother drilled a hole for the construction of the playground with the help of one of the volunteers. (Dale Gerhard/Press of Atlantic City)

David and Francine Wheeler, parents of Sandy Hook School student shooting victim, Benjamin Wheeler, attend the playground dedication ceremony in memory of their son. A new playground is under construction at 29th and West Ave in Ocean City, as part of the Sandy Ground – Where Angels Play, playground project, honoring the students killed in the Sandy Hook School massacre in Newtown Connecticut, December of 2012. The New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association is rebuilding 26 playgrounds in the state damaged by Hurricane Sandy as a way to pay tribute to the 26 school shooting victims. The playground is being constructed in the memory of 6 year old Benjamin Wheeler, one of the students killed at the Newtown Connecticut school. Thursday May 15, 2014. (Dale Gerhard/Press of Atlantic City)

[1] The Newtown Shooting Victims: Who They Were, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/The-Newtown-Shooting-Victims-Who-They-Were-183658461.html; retrieved 12/13/2017