Preston Albert "Dick" Wells Jr. (born Richard Wells; October 8, 1922 – September 2, 2003) was an American

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

business magnate A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

real estate investor Real estate investing involves the purchase, management and sale or rental of real estate for profit. Someone who actively or passively invests in real estate is called a real estate entrepreneur or a real estate investor. Some investors actively ...

, and

cattle baron Cattle baron is a historic term for a local businessman and landowner who possessed great power or influence through the operation of a large ranch with many beef cattle. Cattle barons in the late 19th century United States were also sometimes ref ...

. He was president of The Las Olas Company, owner of the Riverside Hotel and Rush Creek Ranch, and a board member of

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the preside ...

. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

, he served on the

Florida Tax Commission The Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission (TBRC) is a state commission of Florida established by the Florida Constitution to examine the state's budgetary process, revenue needs, expenditure processes, and tax structure. The commission ...

from 1979 to 1987. Born and raised in

Chicagoland The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

, Wells graduated with a bachelor's degree in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

that same year. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was deployed to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and fought the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

at the

Battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army ( ...

. Returning home from the war, Wells worked for the

Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuar ...

as chief chemical engineer before taking control of his family's real estate business and expanding it across

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

. At the time of his death, he was the largest landholder in Las Olas Isles. A major

political donor Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...

, Wells donated millions of dollars to

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

causes and organizations for decades and served as chairman of the

Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsors ...

from 2002 to 2003.

Early life and education

Preston Albert Wells Jr. was born Richard Wells on October 8, 1922, in Chicago, Illinois, to Preston A. Wells Sr., son of Thomas E. Wells, and Lillian Shedd, granddaughter of

John G. Shedd John Graves Shedd (July 20, 1850October 22, 1926) was the second president, and chair of the board, of Marshall Field & Company. Biography Born on a New Hampshire farm on July 20, 1850, Shedd arrived in Chicago, Illinois in 1871 and began workin ...

. He was raised in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second ...

and graduated from

North Shore Country Day School North Shore Country Day School is a selective prep school in Winnetka, Illinois. It took its current form as a coeducational school in 1919 during the Country Day School movement, though it started as the Rugby School for Boys (1893-1900) and Gi ...

. Wells earned his bachelor's degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

. In 1935, Wells visited

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, while under

Austrofascist The Federal State of Austria ( de-AT, Bundesstaat Österreich; colloquially known as the , "Corporate State") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the clerical fascist Fa ...

rule, and returned home to Chicago aboard the RMS ''Majestic'' with his parents,

Giorgio Polacco Giorgio Polacco (April 12, 1875 - April 30, 1960) was the conductor of the Metropolitan Opera from 1915 to 1917 and the Chicago Civic Opera from 1921 to 1930. Biography He was born in Venice, Italy on April 12, 1875. In 1915 he became the conduc ...

, and

Edith Mason Edith Mason (March 22, 1892 – November 26, 1973) was an American soprano. Biography She was born Edith Barnes on March 22, 1892, in St. Louis, Missouri and studied in Boston, Philadelphia, and Paris. She made her singing début on January 27, ...

Career and military service

While attending

, Wells participated in

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based offi ...

before cross-commissioning into the

in 1943. During World War II, he fought the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...

in the Pacific theatre at the

. After the surrender of Japan, Wells retired from service at the rank of Captain, having received the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Navy's variant of the Good Conduct Medal was established in 1869, the Marine Corps version in 1896, the Coast Guard version in 1923, the Arm ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal The Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal is a United States military award of the Second World War, which was awarded to any member of the United States Armed Forces who served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945. The medal was created ...

, and the

Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR, ), is a high precedence United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or su ...

for his actions. His first cousin, then-First Lieutenant Greeley Wells, adjutant of

2nd Battalion, 28th Marines The 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment (2nd Battalion, 28th Marines) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. The battalion (inactive since the Vietnam War) which is part of the 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, fough ...

, served on the island with Wells and was a part of the raising of the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima. After a long search across the island, Wells found his cousin, Greely, at a

command post Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

Mount Suribachi is a -high mountain on the southwest end of Iwo Jima in the northwest Pacific Ocean under the administration of Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The mountain's name derives from its shape, resembling a '' suribachi'' or grind ...

, describing the search as "the most dangerous part of my stay on

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

". After returning home from the war, Wells worked for the

as the chief engineer of the chemical division. Wells gained control of The Las Olas Company in 1972. The company owned the Riverside Hotel in Fort Lauderdale and other large properties across

Broward County, Florida Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...

. Through the company, he owned nearly 60% of land on

Las Olas Boulevard Las Olas Boulevard is a major east-west thoroughfare in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States that runs from SW 1st Avenue in the Central Business District to Florida State Road A1A in Fort Lauderdale Beach. The name ''"Las Olas"'' means "The Wa ...

. In January 1979, Wells was appointed as a member of the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bob Graham Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the Dem ...

. For most of his adult life, Wells was the primary owner of Rush Creek Ranch in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

; founded by his grandfather in 1890.

Political views and contributions

For many years, Wells donated to the

and supported conservative causes. He was a member of the board of trustees of

for nearly 30 years. The "Preston A. Wells, Jr. Senior Research Fellow, Center for Health and Welfare Policy" and "Preston A. Wells Jr. Day" were named in his honor. He was a major donor during the foundation of the

James Madison Institute The James Madison Institute (JMI) is a libertarian free market American think tank headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida in the United States. It is a member of the State Policy Network. The organization's stated mission is "to keep the citizens ...

. The institute designated "Preston A. Wells Jr. Day" in his honor and named their "Center for American Ideals" after him. Wells was also a donor and board member of his wife's non-profit, the

Marion G. Wells Foundation Marion Gretsch Wells (born Marion Downey Gretsch; May 1, 1926October 30, 2016) was an American socialite, conservative activist, and political donor. She founded the Marion G. Wells Foundation and served on multiple charitable boards. She and ...

. From 2002 until his death, Wells was chairman of the

; an annual award was designated in his honor. Preston A

After significant donations, the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

's Department of

Neurology Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

was named after his mother, Lillian, and the department's Center for Brain Tumor Therapy was named after him.

Personal life and family

In 1946, Wells married Helen Whirle Shuman. The couple eventually divorced after having a daughter, Barbara. He married his second wife, Marion Gretsch, in 1973. They lived in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, until his death. In 1991, Wells and his wife were shipwrecked in

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the arc ...

after their 54-foot sailboat, the ''Wells Cargo'', struck a rock and sank. They were stranded on a small

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

before being rescued by a passing cruise ship. Wells died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

in Fort Lauderdale, on September 2, 2003, at the age of 80. Upon the announcement of his death,

Edwin Feulner Edwin John Feulner Jr. (born August 12, 1941) is a former think tank executive who founded the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and served as its president from 1977 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2018. Feulner's positions have in ...

reacted by saying: “We will miss his quiet and principled guidance in every area of Heritage’s activities.” In 2007, the City of Fort Lauderdale posthumously awarded Wells the title of "Honored Founder" for his contributions to the city.

Notes

References

External links

Campaign contributions
from the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells Jr., Preston A. 1922 births 2003 deaths American real estate investors American chairpersons of corporations American people of English descent American hoteliers American political fundraisers American businesspeople in real estate Military personnel from Illinois Businesspeople from Chicago American cattlemen Ranchers from Nebraska Florida Republicans Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni American military personnel of World War II 20th-century American military personnel Businesspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida The Heritage Foundation

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...