Harold Boney “Toby” Wells of Whiteville, N.C. died Wednesday, January 23, 2013, at Waltonwood Assisted Living, Cary, NC. He was born October 30, 1931, in Rose Hill, N.C. to the late Ruby Matthews Wells and William Stokes Wells.
Mr. Wells graduated from Rose Hill High School in 1949. He attended Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) and graduated from the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in 1953, where, in 2003, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award. He served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C.
For more than 50 years, Mr. Wells enjoyed a distinguished career as a franchised automobile dealer, with past business interests in Columbus, Brunswick, Duplin, and Moore counties. He was Past President of the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from that Association in 2004. He served in various leadership capacities of the National Automobile Dealers Association, and in the year 2000 he became the Chairman of the Board, serving franchised automobile dealers throughout the United States.
Mr. Wells was elected a director of the Waccamaw Bank & Trust Company in the 1960s. He became one of the original directors of United Carolina Bancshares when it was formed through the merger of Waccamaw Bank & Trust Company and American Bank in 1970. When UCB merged with what is now BB&T Corporation, Mr. Wells was one of four UCB directors selected to serve on BB&T’s holding company board.
A trustee of Campbell University for over 30 years, he held numerous leadership roles, including Chairman of the University Board of Trustees from 2002-2005. He was an influential leader during a period where the University realized unprecedented campus improvements and beautification. Mr. Wells received an honorary doctorate from the University in 2000 and Lifetime Trustee status in 2012.
The Baptist Church played a major role in Harold Wells’ life. He was a longtime member of First Baptist Church of Whiteville, where he taught Sunday school and served as a deacon for many years.
He received the Lifetime Member Award from the Whiteville Civitans. He was a 32nd degree mason and a member of the Sudan Temple Shrine. Mr. Wells was a supporter of the Boy Scouts of America, serving in various leadership roles with the Cape Fear Council, notably as Council President 1976-1978. In 1970, he was the recipient of their Silver Beaver award and was the Eagle Scout Class Banquet Honoree in 1984. He was instrumental in the creation of Camp Bowers Cape Fear Scout Reservation.
He was a passionate promoter of Southeastern North Carolina, always expressing a sincere love of his community. He was involved in numerous civic and fund raising efforts dedicated to the enrichment and enhancement of the Tar Heel State. Mr. Wells was a founding member of the Columbus County Committee of 100, serving as its chairman for many years. He was a past member of the Board of Directors of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry and was a longtime supporter of Southeastern Community College. Mr. Wells was a recipient of the Order of the Longleaf Pine, one of the most prestigious awards presented by the Governor of North Carolina.
He was preceded in death by his loving and supportive wife of 38 years, Elizabeth Fisher Wells; and his brother, William S. Wells, Jr.
He is survived by his daughter, Anna Wells Moore and husband Peter Allstatt Moore, Jr., and their daughter Anna Elisabeth Moore, of Raleigh, N.C.; and by his son, Harold Boney “Toby” Wells, Jr. and wife Frances Austell Wells, and their daughters, Lydia Louise Wells and Elizabeth Grace Wells, of Wilmington, N.C. He is also survived by his sisters, Gayle W. Powell of Whiteville, N.C.; and Carolyn W. Wells of Wilmington, N.C.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday the 26th of January at Butler Chapel, 60 T.T. Lanier Street, Campbell University, Buies Creek, N.C. Interment will follow at the Wells Family Cemetery, 685 Wells Brothers Road, Rose Hill, N.C. at 3:30 PM.
The family would like to especially thank the devoted caregivers at Waltonwood Memory Care Unit, Cary, North Carolina for their professional and compassionate nursing care provided over the past two years.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be contributed to the Harold and Elizabeth Wells Campus Beautification Fund, c/o Campbell University, P.O. Box 116, Buies Creek, N.C. 27506 or First Baptist Church, 412 North Madison Street, Whiteville, N.C. 28472.
Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St. Raleigh, NC 27605.
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