Dr. Clyde Wells, Jr.

Dr. Clyde O. Wells, Jr., husband of Helen Thomas White Wells and son of Dr. Clyde Otamus Wells, Sr. and Carrie Allene Chapman, died Thursday, November 25, 2021. Clyde was born on August 23, 1926. He was a native of Spartanburg and a long-time resident of Pauline, SC.

Clyde grew up in a family that enjoyed playing musical instruments, making family movies, and pursuing recreational activities such as boating, sledding, and riding ponies. He loved to ride his Indian motorcycle on the mountain roads of Tryon and Saluda. After graduating from Baylor Military Academy in Chattanooga, he attended Wofford and then Converse College (Wofford closed during the war.) before enlisting in the Navy during World War II at age 17.

Clyde trained as a Navy medic at the Hospital Corps School in Bainbridge, MD. He then crossed the Pacific Ocean aboard the USS Noble eventually landing on the island of Okinawa as part of the build-up for a planned invasion of Japan. In 2012, Clyde flew with other SC veterans on an Honor Flight to visit the WWII Memorial in Washington.

After the war, Clyde received a B.S. degree from Wofford College and D.D.S. from University of Maryland. In 1948 he married Margaret Cecilia Ezell with whom he raised three daughters—Margaret, Janet, and Tina—and remained married until Margaret’s death in 2006.

Clyde followed in his father’s footsteps by practicing orthodontics for 42 years. He also served as President of the Spartanburg Dental Association and SC Orthodontic Association. He was a member of the Pierre Fauchard Academy, an international honorary dental society which recognizes professional public service and leadership. His professional life was enriched by helping and providing dental services to children at Thornwell Orphanage in Clinton and cleft palate patients.

Clyde joined the Spartanburg Rotary Club in 1952, served as President 1968-69, and was an active member for more than 60 years as well as a Paul Harris Fellow. He and his family were enriched by their participation in the Rotary Exchange Program through which Marcia Harris of Johannesburg, South Africa became a family member.

A lifelong member of Trinity Methodist Church, he attended and taught the Paul Morris and Coleman Wallace Sunday School classes. Clyde loved flying airplanes and flew his planes out of Spartanburg Memorial Airport. He also served on the Airport Commission. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved his farm, hunting, fishing, driving four wheelers (with his grandkids!) and anything outside. In essence, he loved adventure and, as one of his devoted nephews remarked, he was “a man who never forgot he was a boy!”

Dr. Wells is survived by his wife Helen Wells; daughters Margaret Hayslip (Warren) & Janet Scarborough (George); grandchildren Greg Hayslip, Rachel Scarborough Wynne (Marshall), Katie Hayslip Hekking (Rogier), & Edward Scarborough; great-grandchildren Jimmy Hayslip, Rose Wynne, and Wells Wynne; sister Elizabeth Wells Coggins; nieces and nephews in the Ezell and Wells families; stepchildren Lynn White Montanari and Thomas White (Ashley) and their families; and his Rotarian daughter Marcia Harris Perlroth.

He is predeceased by his first wife Margaret Cecilia Ezell; daughter Tina Chapman Wells; siblings (and their spouses) Allene Williamson (Joe), Joe Wells (Helen), & Carolyn Davison (Meredith), and brother-in-law Henry Coggins.

Visitation will be 5:00 – 7:00 PM Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel, 2075 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307. A Funeral service will be 11:00 AM Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 626 Norwood Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302, conducted by The Rev. Michelle Cockcroft and The Rev. Ansley Page. Burial with Military Rites will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, 1300 Fernwood-Glendale Road, Spartanburg, SC 29307.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Healthy Smiles,P.O. Box 1441, Spartanburg, SC 29304, to The Spartanburg County Foundation for the W.O. Ezell Beautification Fund, 424 E. Kennedy Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302 or online at www.spcf.org/give/online/  or to Trinity United Methodist Church, 626 Norwood Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302.

Guests are encouraged to wear masks.

The family wishes to thank Frances Dye, Rita Cudd, Thomas Mayfield, Steve Whitaker, and Ellison Smith for their devotion and kindness—and especially for taking him on the many rides that he so enjoyed.

Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel