John F. Wells, Rev., Class of 1948

Rev. John F. Wells ’48 died on Jan. 5, 2019. He was born on Jan. 29, 1925 in South Bend, Indiana to Rev. Dr. S.A. and Elnora (Lehr) Wells. John graduated from Southside High School in Fort Wayne, IN. He served in Germany with the Fourth Armored Division of Patton’s Third Army. After the war John received his bachelor’s in English from Otterbein University, followed by a MA in psychology from Bowling Green State University, and a Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. During his time as a student, John was involved in Quiz and Quill, “O” Club, and a member of Pi Beta Sigma (Pi Sig).

He returned to Otterbein to teach Psychology and Religion for six years. After further graduate work in Psychology at The Ohio State University, he accepted a position with Science Research Associates, an educational publisher. John capped his professional life as the psychologist for the Franklin County Municipal Court, from which he retired in 1992. John married Mary Cay Carlson ‘47, a fellow Otterbein student, on June 11, 1948 in Lorain, Ohio. John was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his wife, Mary Cay Carlson Wells‘47; children, Kay Wells Landis ‘74, Gwen (Rex) Wells Blair ‘76 and Philip (Chris) Wells ‘77; grandchildren, Jennifer (Curt) Garrett, Ben (Lainie) Landis, Kathryn (Josh) Compton, Bryan (Terah) Smith, Drew (Lindsay) Smith and Robert Blair, great-grandchildren Katlynn Bell Chanthachak, Alexander and Charlotte Landis, Cal and Max Garrett, Owen and Ajay Smith.