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James H. “Jim” Wheatley, a member of the National Auto Auction Association Hall of Fame, died Oct. 18 in Harrisonburg, Va.He was 75.
Wheatley’s automotive career spanned more than 50 years.
Wheatley volunteered on numerous NAAA committees since joing the association in 1970. He served as president from 1987-1988 and later took on the role of association secretary.
Wheatley’s real lasting legacy is the Warren Young Sr. Scholastic Foundation. Jim, with his wife, Barbara and fellow members Henry and Patty Stanley, were vital in establishing NAAA’s education fund.
Now marking its fifth anniversary, the Scholastic Foundation awards $40,000 annually in scholarships and has helped 50 deserving students from the NAAA family pursue their dreams of a higher education.
He was named to the NAAA Hall of Fame in 1994.
He began his automotive industry career in 1957 as a manager with the Ford Motor Co. in its Washington, D.C., district sales office. Seven years later, he and a partner opened a Ford dealership in Harrisonburg, Va.
In 1970, Wheatley and his wife Barbara saw the need for an auto auction in their area. They opened the Harrisonburg Auto Auction. The Wheatley’s sold the auction to General Electric Capital in 1986, which was bought by Manheim in 1991.
Throughout the changes in ownership, Wheatley remained as general manager with Barbara as assistant general manager. He earned GE’s Summit Club Award two years in a row. . The Harrisonburg Chamber of Commerce named Jim it’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1990. They also launched the Wheatley Motor Car Co. in 1987.
The Wheatleys also owned and operated the Wheatley Motor Car Co.
Wheatley had also served as president of the Southern Auto Auction Association, director of the Virginia Independent Automobile Dealer Association, and director of Catrala of Virginia. He was also a member of both the Maryland and Pennsylvania IADAs.
The native Virginian graduated from the University of Richmond in 1956 and later served a year as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and then as a captain in the reserves until 1964. He was active in many civic clubs and became chairman of the board of the Rockingham Heritage Bank in 1990. He was also a Cub Scout master, Boy Scout troop leader and chairman of the Rockingham/Augusta Area Council Boy Scout Fund Drive.
Wheatley was also a director of James Madison University’s foundation board and an advisory board member of the JMU School of Business.
He is survived by his wife; two sons and daughters-in-law, James K. and Barbara S. Wheatley, Robert C. and Karen A. Wheatley, all of Harrisonburg; a daughter and son-in-law, Susan Wheatley Grow and James B. Grow of Great Falls; and nine grandchildren, Jordan Wheatley, Gray Wheatley, Tucker Wheatley, Mady Grow, Morgan Wheatley, Kristin Guntharp, Jeb Grow, Gregory Guntharp, and Mary Hagen Grow. |
