WELLS – Wes Ellis, 81, of Championship Way, Wells, passed away peacefully at home on May 1, 2024.

Wes was born on Aug. 25, 1942 in Buffalo, N.Y. His childhood was quite nomadic, as his dad (Don) transferred frequently for his career in finance. Every three years or so, his mom (Agatha) would pack up the house and kids (Don Jr., Carol, Palma and Wes) and move to the next city. They had stops in Buffalo, N.Y.; Detroit, Mich.; Chicago, Ill.; and Boston, Mass. The family finally settled in Scituate, Mass. for Wes’ high school years where he met Jean, his wife of 59 years. Jean and Wes had three children, Mark, Wendy (Cashell), and Lynne (Wadlinger). They began their married life together in Brighton, Mass., and then had subsequent stops in Norwell Mass., Palmyra, Rye N.H,, and finally Wells.

Wes had a rewarding career in industrial sales that spanned 25 years for PRC Industrial Supply. He sold conveyor belts and hydraulic gear to Maine’s large paper factories, power plants, Anheuser Busch, McCain, and others. He was PRC’s top gun, developing the Maine territory in the ’80s. In 1991, the company asked him to relocate to southern New Hampshire to replicate his success in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and he began delivering results immediately.

Wes loved the Boston Bruins, but in his younger years, he was most drawn to more non-traditional sports. He enjoyed skydiving, scuba diving, skiing and was an expert water skier. His skydiving days ended after a chat with his father-in-law who strongly suggested that jumping out of airplanes was not the best of ideas once baby #1 was on the way.

He loved spending winters in Florida, taking trips to Moosehead Lake, boating on the waters of New England, Friday cocktails in Rye Harbor and playing golf with his pals. His favorite pastime was watching his four grandchildren, Anna and Reed Bouton, Chase and Cole Wadlinger grow up. He loved being on the sidelines cheering them on.

Wes was the most dependable and loyal of friends. He was the kind of friend who when his buddy was too ill to visit his beloved lake house any longer, Wes road-tripped to the lake, gathered water in a glass jar and brought the lake to his friend. During the pandemic, while another friend was in a nursing home and visitors weren’t allowed in the building, Wes would sit outside his window and talk to him through the screen. That was Wes.

Wes was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Agatha; brother, Don Jr. and his sister, Palma.

He is survived by his wife, Jean; his children, Mark (Diane) of Washington D.C., Wendy Cashell (Tim) of Wells, and Lynne Wadlinger (Dan) of Kennebunk; his grandchildren, Anna Bouton of Boston, Mass., Reed Bouton of Yarmouth, and Chase and Cole Wadlinger of Kennebunk; his sister, Carol A. Donovan of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral Mass will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 10 at St. Mary’s Church in Wells. A reception will follow at Old Marsh Country Club in Wells from 2 to 6 p.m.

To share a memory or leave a message of condolence please visit Wes’s Book of Memories Page at http://www.bibberfuneral.com.

Arrangements are in the care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 111 Chapel Rd., Wells, ME 04090.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

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