FLORIDA
Colonel James R. Wells (Ret.)
James R. Wells turned 100 years old on January 18, 2025. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1943 and went through boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, that summer. He returned to Princeton University where he was commissioned in 1945 through the Marine V-12 Unit – a precursor of the Platoon Leaders Class program, through which his eldest son was commissioned into the Marine Corps in 1970.
Activated from the Reserves in 1950, First Lieutenant Wells served in Korea from 1951 to 1952 as an aviation intelligence officer with VMF 323, Marine Aviation Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. Upon release from active duty, he rejoined the Reserves until his retirement in 1985 at age 60 with over 30 years of military service to his country.
When the Korean War was over, Mr. Wells joined the fuel oil delivery business started by his father in the 1920s. He entered politics in the 1950s as a part-time town councilman and sold the oil business in the late 1960s. He was subsequently appointed commissioner of Commerce and Industry for Nassau County where, among other duties, he oversaw the construction and management of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY. Later, he was named commissioner of General Services, responsible for all county public works. He retired from the county and became executive director of the New York Oil Heating Association, representing dealerships in the metropolitan NY area.
After moving to Florida full-time, Mr. Wells enrolled in Nova Southeastern Law School, receiving his juris doctoral degree at age 68. He practiced law in Delray for the next 25 years.
Mr. Wells is the father of three children: Jim Jr, a semi-retired marketing consultant & retired Marine Corps Major in Fort Lauderdale; Nick, a semi-retired accountant in Boynton Beach; and Phoebe, a long-time registered nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He has seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Now fully retired, he lives in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Location: Boynton Beach, Florida
Submitted by: Jim Wells, Jr., Major, USMCR (Ret.)