Community mourns the loss of a 'princess' who embraced life with open arms

Sep. 5—NEW LONDON — Inside the Garde Arts Center on Tuesday, a lost princess' voice rang out to her bereaved family and loved ones, reminding them that life endures, even after an unimaginable loss.

As a crowd of more than 500 people watched, video snippets of Tiara Wheeler, killed at age 24 in a Groton dirt bike crash last month, played on the main stage during a ceremony of life event, including one in which she recalls the story her parents, Tyson and Farrah Wheeler, told her of their first meeting at Ocean Beach Park.

Wheeler, affectionately known as "Princess," said her parents taught her what "true and respectful love is," while praising her mother's wisdom and her dad's devotion to his wife.

"You both make me feel like I deserve the world," said Wheeler, looking poised and comfortable in the recording.

The Norwich resident ― she graduated from Norwich Free Academy in 2017 before earning a degree at Fairfield University ― was recalled as a driven student whose love for her family was matched by a voracious appetite for life ― and pasta.

At the time of her death, she worked as a treatment coordinator at Orthodontic Associates of Southeastern Connecticut.

Tyson Wheeler, a former NBA player and college basketball coach, spoke of his daughter's almost preternatural brightness and fierce loyalty to her friends and family.

He said she'd sob over an A minus on a test or paper, convinced she deserved an "A plus" and later would be heard belting out the lyrics from a 1990s jam from her room.

"She is our princess," Tyson Wheeler said. "I was so proud to be her father and I'm still proud I got to raise such a beautiful child."

He said the circumstances of her sudden death, while unfathomable to those left behind, were made somewhat easier by the loving nature of the family's relationship.

"She told us how much she loved us every single day and we made sure she heard that from us," Tyson Wheeler said. "We'll be fine; we know she loved us."

Police said Tiara Wheeler was a passenger on a dirt bike driven by 25-year-old Scott Whipple on the night of Aug. 28 when it collided with a car at the intersection of Long Hill Road and Meridian Street Extension.

Police said Wheeler was thrown from the bike and died from her injuries. Whipple was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital and was listed in critical condition as of Tuesday.

Police said Whipple's bike was one of at least 10 dirt bikes and ATVs operating recklessly in the area of the crash earlier in the evening. Police said the other dirt bike riders did not remain with the victims or provide aid but instead took the dirt bike involved in the crash and fled.

Tiara Wheeler's friend, Mackenzie Burke, said her "bestie" had the rare ability to exude confidence and humility at the same time. She described a young woman going full tilt in her race to embrace life, from pasta and wine dinners and European travel to music concerts and quieter conversations.

"Tiara was the sister I got to choose," she said.

The 90-minute ceremony featured a medley of songs, including "To Zion" by Lauryn Hill and "Forever My Lady," by Jodeci, as well as a reading of Tiara Wheeler's obituary. In the theater lobby, guests were greeted by a pictorial timeline of Tiara Wheeler's life from her time as a sleepy toddler to grinning graduate.

The celebration of life ended with final words from Tiara Wheeler from a video taken during a high school function. Her voice steady and her eyes mischievous, she admitted spending her study halls watching television shows on her phone.

She reminded her classmates that "big chances" lead to "big opportunities."

"Do the things that make you happy," she said.

j.penney@theday.com