Robert Wells

1927 - 2021

WELLS, Robert Edwin

(1927-2021)

Robert Edwin Wells of Atlanta and Rabun Gap died peacefully on June 15, 2021 at his home in Rabun County, Georgia.

Born in Hapeville, GA on April 7, 1927, Bob Wells was the fourth child of Ouida Cox Wells and Jere Asmond Wells, both educators in Fulton County, Georgia. Jere was the Fulton Co. school superintendent until his death in 1947. Bob attended Russell High School, followed by Emory University, where he earned his B.S. and M.D. degrees. He married Jean Hess in 1949 and in 1950 enlisted as an Army physician with a MASH unit during the Korean War. After the war, he completed his specialty training in orthopedics at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis. In 1955, Bob and Jean returned to Atlanta, where he began his orthopedics practice with Dr. F. James Funk, Jr. A few years later they were joined by Joseph H. "Skoot" Dimon, with whom they formed the Peachtree Orthopedic Clinic (POC), now Peachtree Orthopedics, today a practice group pf 35 physicians and eight office locations. Peachtree Orthopedics has long been a leader in sports-related orthopedics, and from the early days of Atlanta's professional sports teams, Drs. Funk, Wells, and Dimon were official team physicians for the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, and Flames. Among Bob's prized possessions were his Braves' championship rings.

A respected leader in local and national medical organizations, in 1981-1982 Bob served as president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the world's largest orthopaedic association. With POC's historic affiliation with Piedmont Hospital, now Piedmont Healthcare, he served as Chairman of the Piedmont Board of Directors and later Chairman of the Piedmont Healthcare Foundation. From the very beginning of their practice, Funk, Wells, and Dimon and later POC physicians were committed to providing orthopedic care to the people of Haiti, particularly at L'Hopital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) in the Artibonite Valley. Bob was a regular visiting surgeon there for almost 40 years, and after his retirement in 1992 he served on the HAS Board, including a tenure as Board Chair.

Bob Wells was an adventuresome traveler. He and his first wife, Jean, who died in 1996, traveled to Japan, Europe, India, and the Caribbean, and also enjoyed camping and canoeing. In 1997, he married Ruth West, a partner with King & Spalding, and post-retirement travels took them to increasingly distant and, for Americans, rarely visited lands, from Madagascar to Mongolia to Iran. Much closer to home was his love of Rabun County, Georgia, which he first visited as a Camp Dixie boy in the 1930s. From the 1970s until his death, Bob had a vacation home in Rabun County, first on Lake Rabun and later on Betty's Creek in Rabun Gap. Enjoying a late afternoon cocktail and watching the goldfinches in the garden was one of the great pleasures that he and Ruth enjoyed.

Bob Wells was preceded in death by his parents Jere and Ouida, brothers George and Jere, Jr., and his first wife, Jean. He is survived by his wife Ruth; sisters Elena Wells Harrison and Carolyn Wells; children Jere Wells (Della) and Cathlean Wells Utzig (Carter); grandchildren Judson Wells, Aubrey Wells, Meghann Utzig Kirkley (Heath), and Anna Utzig Lawton (Eddie), and great-granddaughter Isla Kirkley; step-children Bowman Garrett (Jennifer) and McLendon Garrett; and step-grandchildren Josiah, Coleman, and Asher Garrett.

Plans for a celebration of life will be announced at a later date. Memorial gifts in honor of Bob Wells can be made to the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences in Rabun Gap, GA.