Richard “Dick” Wieler's Story

Richard Wieler and Maureen O’Halloran Clark have collaborated to write "Chasing Normality," a memoir about Dick’s life. It describes his journey after polio left him permanently paralyzed from the neck down as a teenager, to his career as an attorney in the Missouri Attorney General's Office.

In 1955, at the age of 15, Dick was a farm boy in West Point, Nebraska. He owned 110 head of cattle, in addition to helping with his family’s cattle business. Then polio hit. He spent five weeks in a tank respirator, or “iron lung.” Afterward, he received rehabilitation in Warm Springs, Georgia, where one of the many adaptations he learned was to type with a mouthstick (and this was before computers!).

Dick’s education and most of his career took place before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed. Few places in the United States were wheelchair accessible at that time. Physical barriers were not the only barriers he faced. When it appeared hopeless for Dick to attend college, his extended family devised an incredible plan.

Despite his quadriplegia, Dick:

  • attended the State University of South Dakota, which at the time was not wheelchair accessible,
  • earned a B.A. from the University of Missouri,
  • graduated 13th out of 108 from the University of Missouri School of Law,
  • served the state of Missouri as an attorney for 22 years,
  • headed the tax division of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office,
  • and represented the state in over 200 appellate cases, most of them before the Missouri Supreme Court.

Since his sophomore year in college, Richard Wieler has lived independently. His story reveals the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. His example of persevering with grace and humor is an encouragement to others as they face their own challenges.

Click here to read an excerpt from "Chasing Normality."