Michael Ivey Wells

Mike was born at the old St Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida on July 17, 1940, son of Marion Dorothy Horne and Charles Dixon Wells Jr. As a teenager, he worked in his father's hardware store in Wesconnett and helped in his father's construction business. Leaving high school at 17, he enlisted in the US Army where he earned his high school diploma and was stationed in South Korea.

School buses were a significant part of Mike's life. As a toddler, he rode with his mother who started driving school buses during World War II. In 1980, Mike bought her three old school buses when she retired from the school bus contracting business. Over the next two decades, M. Wells, Inc. became one of the largest independent school bus contractors in Duval County. Mike operated Wells Garage, servicing his fleet and those of many other school bus contractors. He also was a CDL driving examiner for school bus drivers. Without a doubt, Mike touched the lives of countless bus drivers, bus owners and students.

In addition to school buses, Mike was a man of many other occupations and business endeavors. At various times in his life, he owned and operated a service station, fuel oil delivery company, and landscaping and land clearing companies. At the time of his death, he was the owner of The Slab, a fish camp and bar on Lake Sampson in Starke. He also owned several rental properties in Duval and Bradford counties. He worked for a number of years in the parts business, working at the Volkswagen Parts Warehouse and in the parts department at Westside Volkswagen. He also worked briefly as a salesman for Gulf Life Insurance Company.

Mike was an excellent baseball player and played high school and adult league baseball. As an adult, he was very involved in the Wesconnett and Westside Athletic Associations. For many years, he coached youth Little League Baseball, and was often tapped to help umpire youth baseball games.

Mike loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter, spending every weekend of hunting season in the woods. He loved a good camp fire and to hear his dogs chasing deer through the woods. He was also an avid fisherman. He enjoyed spending time at Jax Raceway where he owned several race cars.

Mike touched many lives and was always ready to give a helping hand. He was a quite social person, never meeting a stranger.

Mike was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Charles D Wells III. He survived by two daughters, Lee Ann (Jeremy) Sessions and Amy Wells Byers (Terry) of Orange Park, FL; one son, Michael Wayne Wells of Lawtey; eight grandchildren: Taylor, Blake and Carlee Sessions, Ciana Wells, Terry Byers Jr. and Trevor Byers of Orange Park, FL; Melinda Troemper (Jon) of Washington, DC; Michael Charles Wells of Lawtey, FL. He is also survived by two sisters, Mardos Markham and Pamela Wells of Jacksonville, FL; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be on Saturday, December 19th from 1-3, followed by services at 3 p.m, at Hardage-Giddens Town & Country Funeral, 7242 Normandy Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32205. Interment will be at a later date at Riverside Memorial Park, Jacksonville, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida.