Unionville community remembers art teacher, student

On Aug. 6, a Chester County teen traveled to Bucks County to attend the funeral of his mentor, a longtime Unionville High School art teacher; a week later, the 19-year-old's own funeral had to be planned.

The dual tragedies have left a searing void in the community, drawing hundreds to back-to-back memorial services on Tuesday evening.

Jeffrey A. Wheet, 60, arrived in the district in 1984 after teaching at Woodrow Wilson High School in Bristol Township and in the Lower Merion School District. The former Fulbright scholar led the Unionville art department for more than 20 years before dying of cancer on July 30.

Oscar "Okie" Regalado, a 2009 Unionville graduate, was about to begin his second year at Delaware College of Art and Design. He was one of two passengers in a car driven by a friend who lost control of it, slamming the rear passenger side of his Audi - where Regalado had been sitting - into a tree.

At tributes for both men, testimonials elicited tears and laughter, revealing that both had more in common than a passion for art.

Wheet was described as an imposing figure, a tall African American whose signature attire - suits and silk handkerchiefs - seemed to spring from the pages of GQ magazine.

"What a delightful picture he painted," said Unionville Chadds Ford Superintendent Sharon Parker, inviting people to "create a mural of memories."

Colleagues and students in the mostly white district responded with a litany of snapshots:

Mr. Wheet storming a hallway with a megaphone, instructing straggling students to get to class; leading spirited renditions of "Happy Birthday" in the cafeteria; or sparking creative dialogue about art exhibits by posing the question, "Which painting would you want to steal?"

One of Wheet's six siblings, Michael, said his brother's art talent at age 4 or 5 was noticed by a traveling salesman, who urged his parents to nurture his gift. He said his father, a steelworker, struggled to provide the basics for his family but managed to enroll his son in art school.

That training forged a path that led to Temple's Tyler School of Art, then myriad mentorships with students like Regalado.

Regalado, an aspiring illustrator whose funeral is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 19, also came from humble beginnings. Friends said his father, Oscar Sr., emigrated from Mexico with little more than hope. He began working in the mushroom industry, where he met his future wife, Ileana Acosta.

The couple raised three children in Kennett Square: Rebecca, a Unionville graduate attending art school; Oscar; and Laura, a Unionville senior.

Jordan Patterson, Oscar Regalado's friend since fourth grade, described the family as tight-knit and its patriarch, who juggles multiple jobs, "the hardest-working person I've ever met."

Patterson said his friend "had a kind heart and . . . could always make you smile; Mr. Wheet was the same way."

Katherine Long, a Temple freshman who worked with Regalado on the Unionville stage crew, said he turned kindness into an art form.

"Once he just bought me a teapot because he knew I'd like it, and he wanted to see me smile," she said. "He just did nice things for people."

Long said Regalado became her junior-prom date because he heard her lamenting that she wasn't going. The next thing she knew, he had slipped her a formal note seeking permission to accompany her and promising a night of dancing and a limo ride.

"I still have the note," Long said.

Patterson said the day before Regalado died, he changed his Facebook photo to one that showed him with his beloved art teacher.

Robert McCullough, a retired Unionville English teacher, offered some words of comfort:

"Two men who enjoyed art so much are together now."