Wells, Christopher K. (5/13/1982)

From our 30th reunion memorial service
Christopher Wells was a member of Beta Theta Pi and Sphinx. After graduation, he moved to San Francisco and entered the restaurant business. He died in a motorcycle accident in 1982, heading to his Mill Valley home.

From the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, 1983

Many of us lost a dearly-loved friend on May 13, 1982, when CHRISTOPHER KENT WELLS died in a motorcycle crash on Highway 101 north of San Francisco while riding towards his Mill Valley home. Wellsy came to Hanover from Abington High School in Massachusetts, where he was a three-letter athlete, active in student government, and named to the National Honor Society. At Dartmouth he played freshman and jayvee football and was a member of Beta Theta Pi and Sphinx. After his graduation, Chris moved to San Francisco to work in the bar and restaurant business.

A memorial service held in Abington on May 17 was attended by more than 300 people from all parts of the country. The presiding minister spoke of the remarkable legacy of friends Chris left behind him. The same day many who could not make the trip east gathered at Henry Africa’s, Wellsy’s place of employment in San Francisco. After a minister led the group in prayer, Kevin Sullivan ‘79 and David Hipschman, another friend, offered thoughts and reminiscences. Rich Pugh ‘79 delivered a closing prayer.

With his appetite for life’s pleasures, his irreverent, scolding, but always affectionate wit, and his passion for adventure, Wellsy was a Falstaff for our times, a man who brightened the existence of all who knew him. His untimely death renders the world a bleaker place.

The class extends its sincerest condolences to the Wells family.

TED WINTERER ‘79

In memory of Christopher Wells, the Class of 1979 has purchased the following book for Baker Library:

Tzonis, A., Architecture in Europe Since 1968