Jack Charles Wells' Obituary
Jack Charles Wells departed this life on April 20, 2024 and is now joining his fellow Christians and his Savior in the heavenly realms. He is survived by his wife of 76 years, Barbara J. Martin Wells.
Jack was born December 16, 1926 and was raised in Hennessey, OK. He served in the US Navy as an Electricians Mate in WWII from 1944 to 1946, serving on Naval Station Treasure Island in California. Upon returning from service, Jack attended Oklahoma A&M College (OSU) and graduated with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering in 1950. He was married to Barbara Martin from Waukomis, OK in 1947 and lived in Stillwater, OK before moving to Tulsa in 1950.
Jack worked for an electric utility, Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), as a project engineer, Superintendent of Electrical Design, General Substation Superintendent, Manager of Transmission and Distribution, and Vice President of Power Engineering and Construction. In 1976, Jack was transferred to Dallas, TX to organize a joint Engineering Organization for the parent company of PSO, Central and Southwest Corporation (CSW) as Senior Vice President. PSO was one of four Electric Utilities in the Central and Southwest Corporations and the new organizations would then perform major engineering services for all companies. Jack retired in 1990 from CSW as Senior Vice President with 40+ years of service for the system.
Jack was a registered Professional Engineer in Oklahoma and Texas. He was a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and a 40-year member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS). He served as Chairman of the Tulsa section of IEEE in 1959 and Chairman of the Oklahoma section of the ANS in 1976. He was President of the Dallas Electric Club and was national chairman of the Engineering Committee for the North American Electric Reliability Council for 2 years.
He was active in the Boy Scouts organization, served as company chairman for United Way campaigns and was a 5-gallon blood donor. He was very active in his churches throughout his life, serving as deacon and elder.
Jack was active in the restorations of WWII aircraft, a charter member of several air museums, a tour guide for the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and an avid air show fan, attending shows throughout the country. He was also an avid amateur astronomer, studying and enjoying the science of astronomy, serving as president of the Tulsa Astronomical Society in 1957. His main interest in astronomy was witnessing total solar eclipses, a rare event that required travel to foreign lands to stand in the moon’s shadow. Jack witnessed and photographed 11 total solar eclipses, traveling to 6 of 7 continents to do so, with Barbara joining him for 8 of the eclipses.
He is also survived by his 4 children: Chris Gollery (Bill) of Tulsa; Paula Wells (Jill Mulder) of Mountainair, NM; Stephanie Howerton (Al) of Broken Arrow, OK; and Geoff Wells (Camille) of Dade City FL. He will also be missed by his 7 grandchildren: Jamie Thomas (Roger), Damon Hougland (Julie), Ryan Park, Brad Park (Becca), Jack Wells II, Matt Wells (Ashlinn), and Natalie Veilleux (Sean). He was blessed with 10 great grandchildren: Allison Thomas (Chenin), Adam Thomas, Anna Thomas, Abbey Hunter (Max), Gibson Hougland, Gehrig Park, Declan Park, Maxwell Park, Norah Park, and Brooke Veilleux.
Celebration of Life services will be held at Floral Haven, 6500 S 129th E Ave in Broken Arrow at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2024. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Park Church of Christ, website: theparkchurchtulsa.org.
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