Loved Ones, Friends Pay Tribute To Ex-Fire Chief Gerald Wells, 88

NORTH FORK, NY — The North Fork is mourning a pillar of the community as they come together to pay their respects to Gerald S. "Whitey" Wells, of East Marion and formerly of Cutchogue, who died on Friday, Dec. 6.

He was 88 years old.

Wells was an ex-chief and former commissioner of the Cutchogue Fire Department.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, Dec. 11 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Homes, located at 13805 Main Road in Mattituck. Firematic services will take place at 7:30 p.m. Family and friends will gather at the funeral home on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 9 a.m. The procession will leave the funeral home at 10 a.m. for Calverton National Cemetery, located at 210 Princeton Boulevard in Calverton, where services will be conducted by Caren Heacock and military honors will be rendered by the U.S. Navy.

On Friday, Wells' granddaughter, Erica Wells, shared memories of the man who meant so much to so many. "He was a lifelong resident of the North Fork and very well known throughout the community," she said, serving as Cutchogue Fire Chief in 1969 and 1970 and a fire commissioner from 1972 to 1981. He was the fire department's most senior ex-chief until his passing.

In addition, Wells had a long career with the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District, where he served as head custodian for many years. He was a veteran of the United States Navy.

His wife Betty Wells, who passed before him at 80 in 2014, was president of the Suffolk County Historical Society and worked for the Southold Police Department. She also wrote two books about Robins Island, his granddaughter said.

Cutchogue Fire Department Chief Tom Shalvey said Wells served as chief just before he joined the department. "I knew him for almost 50 years," he said. "He was always a good guy, a good fireman, always helping out everyone. Even after he moved out of our district, he helped with the Cutchogue BBQ every year. He continued to come to company "feeds" and meetings every month to socialize and stay involved. "Everybody liked him," he said.

And Wells, he added, helped those rising in the ranks, sharing his years of experience. "When I first became chief, he told me, 'If you have any questions, you come see me,'" Shalvey said. Even after moving to East Marion, Wells, he said, stayed involved. "He was upbeat, friendly — an all-around nice guy," Shalvey said.

Remembering her grandfather, Erica shared precious memories. "Poppa. Jerry. Whitey. Pop. Just some names he goes by. An avid outdoors man. A great love of hunting, fishing and travel. He was never too good for a hard day of work even on his days off where he would work on his own house or in the yard or help someone else do the same. He was always one to joke and kid and thought it very important not to sweat the small stuff. Hard work was what would he felt would reward you and it did for him."

Memories of her grandfather, she said, include trips with him, her grandmother and cousins in the car to upstate New York and once, to Canada. And, too, there were so many years of conversations in the living room and on the porch, "where we would discuss so many different things about life."

Joel Edwards, Wells' cousin, said he was honored to pay tribute to Jerry. "Gerald Smith Wells, 'Whitey Wells' was always 'cuz' to me," he said. "My dad was his mom’s brother. He lived in Mattituck and I lived in Hayground so we spent a lot of time together visiting each other’s households, at the beach or in the backyard playing games, wrestling and goofing off. In high school we had games against each other and he could run all over me in basketball — but I could beat him in baseball. I had the honor of being best man at his wedding to his sweetheart Betty Tuthill, or 'Bett.' After they were married I used to visit them and we would go crabbing and enjoy the feast afterward."

Reflecting on the years shared, Edwards said: "As an adult Cuz was the sweetest, kindest man I have ever known; he loved kids. He and Bett fostered many throughout the years and adopted three boys who were the 'Wells boys', Rodney, David, and Kevin. Cuz loved to hunt and fish and every summer we would chase down a few blues on a boat he had arranged for us to go out on. As a school custodian he mentored countless numbers of boys and girls who knew he was a person they could safely share their feelings with."

As the years went by and Edwards moved upstate the two would arrange to meet at one home or the other to just talk, eat, "and have a Scotch or two," he said. "During the last few years my wife and I made many a trip to see him at his home in East Marion, the nursing home or the hospital. On all of these visits to his home he would always be sure that my cooler was full of clams, oysters, scallops, etc., when we left to go home. His home was always open to anyone and he made sure you were comfortable. One of the qualities I liked most about my Cuz was he was a very emotional person who would well up in tears when something nice happened. I used to tease him that it was his fault that I did the same thing."

Edwards added: "Cuz was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and friend who recognized the good in everyone he met. He had a great influence on my life and I will miss him dearly."