Wheat founded the House of Wheat when he was just in his mid-20s in 1969 and saw it grow to become a fixture in West Dayton for decades.
At its Hall of Freedom Awards last fall, the Dayton Unit of the NAACP gave Wayne Wheat its Lifetime Achievement Award, calling Wheat’s funeral home a household name and one “that understands the importance of community service.”
Wayne Lee Wheat was a 1961 graduate of Roosevelt High School in Dayton but started work as a funeral home attendant even before that at the McLin Funeral Home, according to his biography on the House of Wheat’s website.
He attended Central State University and the Cincinnati School of Mortuary Science, graduating from the latter in 1965. After serving an apprenticeship at the McLin Funeral Home, he opened the House of Wheat at 106 North Williams Street in 1969, calling his parents’ sacrifice key to the founding of the business.
The funeral home grew in part because of “Wayne’s charismatic personality coupled with his solid business sense,” according to the House of Wheat, and in 1989 it moved to its current location at 2107 N. Gettysburg Ave.
Wheat called his funeral home a family business, saying his wife Dorothy made “tremendous contributions,” while his sons, Tony and Stacey, became funeral directors and vice presidents.
Wheat was part of a complex 10-year court proceeding that started in 1993. He was convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, only to see those convictions thrown out, then reinstated, according to the Dayton Daily News archives. During a long sentencing fight, one key witness said he may have been mistaken about Wheat’s role, and character witnesses testified about Wheat’s generosity in the black community. He was sentenced in 2003 to probation and community service.
Wayne Lee Wheat was preceded in death by his parents, William James and Thelma Wheat; brother, William “PeeWee” Wheat; and sister, Saundra Veal, according to his obituary. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Dorothy J. Wheat; sons, Wayne Anthony Wheat and William Stacey Wheat and many other relatives and friends.