Jack Nulk Wells died Sunday, Januray 12, 2020, in Gallatin, Tenn., after a brief illness.
Jack was born in 1937 in McLouth, Kan., to Russell and Mabel Wells, and grew up on the family farm, attending a one-room schoolhouse for much of his childhood. After graduating high school, he attended Park College in Parkville, Mo., where he double-majored in Chemistry and Biology, and where he met his wife, Marjorie Crabtree of Ridgeway, Mo. The two were married in 1960, and moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., where they both attended graduate school at the University of Michigan. Jack earned his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry in 1963, and began his teaching and research career at Ohio State, then accepting a position at Purdue University. During his academic career, he was honored by Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Lambda Upsilon, Pi Delta Sigma, and Rho Chi. He was also awarded the Lederle Research Award at Purdue, and was an Established Investigator for the American Heart Association from 1976 to 1981.
In 1972, Jack was recruited by Nobel winner Earl Sutherland to join his lab at Vanderbilt University, and Jack and Marjorie moved to Nashville. He taught in the Physiology and Pharmacology departments of the Vanderbilt School of Medicine just over three decades, retiring in 2003. During his career, he mentored 20 graduate students, co-authored more than 70 articles in his field, created numerous therapeutic compounds, and co-patented a chemical for anti-cancer drugs.
Jack was a brilliant and dedicated research scientist, and an advisor to many students who went on to become doctors and clinicians. He enjoyed fishing and woodworking, and built beautiful furniture and musical instruments. Mostly, though, he is remembered by those he left behind as a kind and patient father and grandfather, with a gentle sense of humor and a love for his family. His marriage lasted nearly 60 years, ending with Marjorie’s passing in September of 2019.
He is survived by his two sons, (Daniel and Douglas); a daughter-in-law (Elizabeth) and two grandchildren (Russell and Richard), as well as his sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Ronald McManus.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Association for Retarded Citizens.
A Celebration of Life will be held for his family and friends in Portland, Tenn.; a date has yet to be arranged.