In Loving Memory
of
Lowell Wheatley
1946-2002

On July 13, 2002, a tragic accident took the life of Lowell Wheatley. Lowell was loved by all that knew him. He possessed that magic ability to make every one that he met feel like a lifelong friend. I know that Nancy and I both had very deep admiration and respect for him. He brought many happy times to us and is part of some our fondest memories. He was brilliant, energetic, thoughtful, kind, and had a wonderful sense of humor.

Lowell was born in the North Sound, Virgin Gorda to the late Lawrence and Venetia Wheatley on June 15, 1946. His father and his late brother Wilmore were both great sea captains. Like them, Lowell developed a love for the sea.  However, his first real job was in 1963, working overseas for the company that was then doing the construction work on the Little Dix Bay resort. In this job, he was able to save enough money to buy a small boat and begin his own lobster fishing business.

In 1969, Lowell moved to Anegada to fish for lobster to supply the Bitter End Yacht Club. He quickly realized that it was a costly exercise to travel back and forth between Anegada and the North Sound daily. Ever the innovator and problem solver, he built a lobster pool to preserve his catch until he had enough to make it worth traveling to Virgin Gorda.

At the time, British businessman Kenneth Bates had leased the majority of Anegada from the British Government and was working on a massive development of Anegada as the "Anegada Development Corporation". This work was very unpopular, and eventually resulted in the termination of the project and lease by the government. Anegada began to return to its original state of piece and quiet. The halted development left behind many abandoned pieces of construction, one of which was the as yet unopened Anegada Reef Hotel. The abandoned 20-room building was then only used by visiting campers. Everything had become rusty and had generally fallen into a state of serious disrepair.

In this mess, Lowell saw opportunity. He realized that with some dedication and hard work, the Anegada Reef Hotel could bring life back to Anegada. In 1976, after negotiating a lease with the Government, Lowell and his first wife, Vivian, took over the hotel property and began the task of renovating the abandoned buildings. Lowell became electrician, plumber, builder, carpenter, and painter while Vivian took over the tasks of housekeeping, kitchen and office administration. After months of hard work, the dilapidated, weed-covered buildings were transformed into the Anegada Reef Hotel, a charming, comfortable inn, the foundation for many years of hospitality.

Over the following years until his tragic and untimely death, he and his second wife Sue worked with vision, passion, and dedication so that the Hotel became the success it is now with all the guests who look forward to the very special ambience of the Anegada Reef Hotel. The hotel and its anchorage became a favorite stopover for visiting yachtsmen, and Lowell became a friend to all that visited.

During that time Lowell also made countless rescues of yachts and sailors that stumbled upon the treacherous Anegada reef at night and in weather so foul that no one else would dare to venture out. He had a strong sense of responsibility to Anegada visitors -- whether he had ever met them or not.

Lowell was one of those people that seemed to have endless energy. I cannot recall ever seeing him be still for more than an instant. Even at rest, I am certain that his mind was still racing. He was always engaged in a project at his beloved Anegada Reef Hotel, which he and Sue built into a place that was extraordinarily peaceful, pleasant and comfortable. In fact, he was frequently involved in numerous bits of improvement all over Anegada, and always had more things planned. Lowell believed that if anything was worth doing, it was worth doing properly. Sadly, the accident that took his life came while he was doing one of his favorite things -- working.

Lowell and Sue were a great pair, with Sue adding the fine touches that made Anegada attractive to women and non-sailors.  Many other Anegada entrepreneurs are now reaping the rewards of their efforts.

This man was truly a larger-than-life character, a brother to all. No matter what the circumstance, you could count on a smile and a cheerful word from him. He put the sparkle in Anegada.

Lowell was immensely proud of his two children Lawrence and Lorraine and looked forward to the day when he could hand over the business to them. He was with them in April, 2002 when they graduated from Bethune-Cookman College in Florida. Today Lawrence and Lorraine are carrying on their father's legacy and continuing the tradition of hospitality, welcoming sailors and guests to Anegada.

Lowell always had a vision of what was next, what would make life better, and he always worked toward that vision.  That vision - call it a dream - did not just include Lowell; it included everything that was in Lowell's life.  It included Sue, the hotel, the island, the sea, and all of Lowell's thousands of friends.

As fast as he accomplished the things that were part of his visions, he had new dreams and visions that replaced those accomplishments.  I like to think of Lowell's dreams for the future as being the landscape between him and the horizon.  As fast as Lowell moved across that landscape toward that horizon, he was also having new dreams to replace those which he was reaching.   Thus, his horizon was always moving also.  Lowell had a passion for that landscape that stood between him and the horizon.  Indeed, he had a passion for that horizon itself.  Lowell never, ever stopped chasing that horizon.  And Lowell lived for that chase.  He loved that chase.  He WAS that chase.

The world is indeed a much emptier place without him.

The images of Lowell below are from our own photos and from others who kindly contributed them. I hope that they will bring a smile to you and warmth to your heart, as they do for me.

Sue and Lowell at the Anegada Reef Hotel bar. (Photo from Sue)

Sue and Lowell with a couple of nice white marlin. (Photo from Sue)

Along with this photo, Sue sent the following story: Lowell loved deep sea fishing and as business does, the Hotel took over our life and Lowell and I found little time to use our boat. When we closed the hotel in the days we did get away(!) our mission was to find a 46 ft. Hatteras. We decided to 'pool' our resources and figured out that we could afford a second hand boat. We went to Florida to look at many boats, within our price bracket. En route, we stopped to look at two boats in Puerto Rico. Too expensive, declared Lowell, we cannot even consider this. We continued our trip to Florida and looked at many boats our brokers had arranged for us to see. We found one we loved, it happened to be called "Monkey Business". We put our down-payment on this boat and found that someone came in afterwards and offered more money. To our amazement, we lost the deal. Disappointedly, we returned to Anegada. We called the owner of the boat in Puerto Rico, it was still for sale. We flew out, clinched the deal and brought it back within four days. Yes, this was "Basic Lady". By this time, being with Lowell, I too, developed a love of deep sea fishing. They say, you must take an interest in your husband's hobbies, so I did exactly that. The following year, when we closed the Hotel again, Lowell declared "I'm going to get you a blue marlin" Never believing I would, I went off fishing that day. To my amazement, guess what I caught, My First Blue Marlin! It was big. We released it! Lowell was as thrilled as me! I had proved myself. He was happy, I had my Blue Marlin. Lowell told the story, as he always told stories around the bar, about how he found me my first Blue Marlin. He was happy I was a fisherwoman. We went to Venezuala one year, leaving Basic Lady in St. Martin and flying out. There Lowell and I fished on local boats, with much poorer gear than we had on Basic Lady, but despite that we caught White Marlin. This was another exciting achievement. Here, Lowell and I are shown with the Marlin we caught. I now had my blue and my white marlin, I was quietly pleased. I had not let Lowell down!.

Photo from Gary Kilbride of Lowell with Jean-Michel Cousteau during one of The Cousteau Society's Project Ocean Search sessions. According to Gary, the highlights of the 2 week summer camp for adults were 2 days diving on the Anegada Reef, camping out at the Anegada Reef Hotel and 3D's at ARH. 3D's = Dining, Drinking and Dancing...

Lowell, 1982.

Lowell, 1982.

Lowell and Sue, mid-80's.

Lowell at the ARH bar, mid-80's.

Lowell at the ARH bar, mid-80's. Sue is barely visible just to the right of Lowell.

Lowell at the ARH bar, mid-80's.

Lowell and Sue, mid-80's.

Lowell at the ARH bar, 1990.   Jimmy Hodge is in the foreground.

Lowell selecting lobster for dinner, 1990. That is Walker on the right wearing the hat with the neon pink bill.

Unloading catch on "Dayang", 1991.

Lowell putting finishing touch on dinner, 2000.

Lowell putting finishing touch on dinner, 2000.

Lowell with Walker and Nancy, 2000.

Chef Lowell.

Chef Lowell.

Lowell the congenial host.

Lowell and Baby Charlie.

Baby Charlie, Sue, and Lowell.

Lowell and Charlie.

Lowell and his favorite toy.

Lowell -- apparently in deep concentration.  Not really.  I have seen this expression enough times to know precisely what what he is doing. He is grating fresh nutmeg on the top of one of his famous Anegada Smoodies!

Bartender Lowell.

Lowell the fisherman.

Lowell the fisherman.

Lowell and Sue, November, 2000.

Birthday boy Lowell.

What's wrong with this picture?.

Lawrence, Lowell, Vivian, and Lorraine at the graduation ot Lawrence and Lorraine from Bethune-Cookman College.

Lowell readying the flag for the Queen's Jubilee Parade, June 15, 2002.

Lowell with grandson Lawrence at the Queen's Jubilee, June 15, 2002. The last photograph that was taken of Lowell.

If you have any photos or images of Lowell that you are willing to share, please let me know.

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