JOHN M. WELLS, 86, of 90 Lighthouse Dr., Jupiter, FL, formerly of Eastford Rd., Southbridge, MA died Monday June 26, 1989 at Harrington Memorial Hospital, Southbridge, after an illness.  He was born in Southbridge, MA, a son of J. Cheney and Florence (Morse) Wells on January 14, 1903.

He attended the Fay School, Southboro, MA. & St. Paul’s School, Concord NH.  He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA, in 1925.

He served as a Lieutenant (USNR) with the Atlantic Fleet from 1924 to 1941.  He was well-known as an intrepid aviator, an indefatigable ham radio operator & an excellent fly-fisherman.

A former employee of the American Optical Company until 1940, he co-founded the former Harvey-Wells Electronics, Inc. with the late Clifford A. Harvey, the firm he operated until it was acquired by Whitin Machine Works in the late 1950s upon his retirement.

He leaves a son, John S. Wells of West Boylston, MA.; 2 daughters, Natalie Delandis of Princeton, MA. and Florence Frisbie of San Francisco, CA.; a sister Gertrude Brennan of Jackson, WY.; 6 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. 

His first wife, Sylvia Shippen Wells died in 1973; his second wife Hazel Burgwin died in 1981.

Private burial will be in the Wells Mausoleum, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Southbridge, MA.