Age 85. Joined US Army Air Corps in 1942. Graduated as Flight Officer from Western Reserve University in 1943. Served with 8th Air Force, 339th 503 Squadron as a fighter pilot.∼Ocala, Florida - Richard Gilbert Wells, age 85, passed away on Thursday, April 16, 2009. He was born to Gladys Eva (Hall) and Lawrence Lester in Dryden, Michigan on September 1, 1923. He was the fourth of six brothers. Full brothers include Max and Donald; older half-brothers included Russell, Ronald, and Burton Stover. Survived by his brother, Donald (Mitzy) Wells; and his second wife of twenty-nine years, Colleen Callahan Wells; along with children Karen (Frank) Serratoni, Lynda Wells, Erin (Justin) Blakely, and Ryan Wells; and four grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son Richard Lawrence (Jill) Wells who passed away In 1984. Mr. Wells loved all sports, and actively participated in hunting, fishing, and golf. He was a captain of the 1940 State Champion Basketball Team for Williamston High School and class President (1940) and Vice President (1941). Shortly thereafter he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. He graduated as a flight officer from Western Reserve University (1943) and served with the Eighth Air Force, 339th 503 Squadron as a Fighter Pilot. Following the war, he played baseball in the minor leagues. A few years later, he began working as a laborer in Detroit, Michigan. In 1960, he jointly purchased the Walter Toebe Construction Company with his brother, Burton Stover. Mr. Wells retired in 1987 and raised his second family, Erin Wells Blakely and Ryan Wells in Ocala, Florida. He remained active up until his death, spending time with family and friends. The family asks that any expressions of sympathy be through a contribution to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, PO. Box 1992, Savannah, Ga. 31402.
Published in Ocala Star-Banner from 4/22 to 4/23/2009