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Danica Nickie Veljka Jurasic Wheelock, 81, passed away December 17, 2008. She was born on April 24, 1927 in Gluhi Do, Montenegro, Yugoslavia and was the daughter of Petar Djurasich and Ljubica Dresich Djurasich. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1933, where she lived in West Virginia until her graduation from Gary High School in Gary, West Virginia in 1945. She then moved to Alexandria, Virginia to attend The Alexandria Hospital School of Nursing through the Cadet Nurses Corps CNC, and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1948. It was during nursing school that she met a group of over a dozen fellow nursing students and instructors that would become her life long friends and extended family. Mrs. Wheelock resided in Northern Virginia for 50 years where she spent her nursing career as a Nursing Instructor at The Alexandria Hospital School of Nursing, a RN at Alexandria and Potomac Hospitals and for the private practice of Wallace E. Baker, M.D., before retiring as an Elementary School Nurse from the Alexandria City School System in 1993. She then moved to Surfside Beach in 1994 to enjoy her retirement with her husband, while also traveling extensively to visit family and friends. Mrs. Wheelock was an active member of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Springfield, Virginia, The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Surfside Beach, and a Mobile Meals Volunteer until her health declined. Mrs. Wheelock is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, Kenneth E. Wheelock; daughter Danica A. Wheelock of Dumfries, Virginia; daughter and son-in-law, Karen Wheelock Copeland and Eric Copeland of Cary, North Carolina; her beloved granddaughter, Katherine Copeland, and several nieces and nephews. She was a dedicated and caring Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Sister, Aunt, Godmother, and friend, and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. Mrs. Wheelock was predeceased by her parents, Petar Djurasich and Ljubica Dresich Djurasich, and her sisters, Mielva Melva Jurasic and Bosilka Bess Jurasic Pressly. Services will be held at 2:00 pm, Sunday, December 21st, at The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, 8901 Highway 17 Bypass, Surfside Beach, South Carolina, with Reverend Jim Lewis and Reverend Jeff Wallace officiating. Committal will follow at the Church of the Resurrection Columbariam. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the Church Hall. Memorials may be sent to the Alzheimer's Association, South Carolina Chapter, 4124 Clemson Blvd, Suite L, Anderson, SC 29621 or to The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, 8901 Highway 17 Bypass, Surfside Beach, South Carolina 29587. The family would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to the wonderful, caring and dedicated staff of Myrtle Beach Estates for their outstanding care of "Miss Nickie" over the past 3 and a half years, and to the supportive members of their church family including Dee and Jack Reiner.

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Danica Wheelock

December 17, 2008