Russell Briton Wells

An incredible man and an amazing and sacrificial father, Russell passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 19, 2018, surrounded by his loving family.

Russell was born in 1926, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where his parents, Charles and Ida, were homesteaders and farmers. During the 30’s, the family fell on hard times and moved to Halifax where they opened a general store. Russell worked in the store, selling newspapers and homemade root beer to the workers in Halifax Harbour, reaching sailors on the ships by cargo sling. Those same cargo slings inspired his first entrepreneurial venture. During loading, lumber would often fall from the cargo slings into the harbour. Russell would dive into the water, retrieve the lumber and sell it back to the shipping companies at the end of the day. Several years later, the Wells moved to PEI where Russell had a number of jobs and began his work in radio at a Summerside station. In the latter years of WWII, Russell trained as a pilot in the Harvard Aircraft. Upon the completion of his training, however, the war ended, and he missed his opportunity to serve. After the war, Russell moved to Toronto, where he became a door-to-door salesman selling Bibles and products for the Fuller Brush Company. After graduating from Emmaus Bible School, he was accepted into the Lorne Greene School of Broadcasting where he completed prestigious training with renowned Canadian icons John Drainie and Lorne Greene. Afterward, he developed commercials and contests and hosted a late-night radio program for the Toronto radio station, CKEY. In 1954, Russell married Lois Hunt, and they settled in Scarborough. Before his marriage to Lois, Russell had decided to leave broadcasting and joined LS Snelgrove Realtor. His success in real estate allowed him to become a partner and then owner of Snelgrove. Although he was involved in many companies over the years, his primary focus for the last 40+ years was Wells Gordon Limited and The Briton House Retirement Centre, where he took great pride in providing seniors with quality care, dignity, and respect.

The Wells family first attended Leaside Bible Chapel and then The Peoples Church. At Peoples, Russell took on a very active role, serving on the board and teaching an adult Bible class for many years. He counted the pastor, Dr. Paul B. Smith, as one of his closest friends. As chairman of the board, Russell helped steward the church through challenging times and always counted it a privilege to have served faithfully and to have seen God’s blessing upon the church.

Russell dearly loved his children and was intensely proud of all of them. He embraced their spouses like his children and immensely enjoyed his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Russell leaves behind his five children and their families:

John (Debra); Mark (Virginia); Margaret (David Smith); Grant (Paula); Jennifer (Jared Erhardt). Grandchildren: (John) Briton and wife, Laura, Graydon and Amanda; (Mark) Ani and Matthew; (Margaret) Brendon, Jonathan and wife, Jenna, and Rebecca; (Grant) Olivia and Nathan; (Jennifer) Alexandra, Courtenay, Joel, Madison, and Christian (predeceased). Great-grandchildren: (Jonathan) Jalylee, Jolina, and Jadon.

The family wishes to thank the caring staff at The Briton House Retirement Centre, and

Dr. Diana Heath. They are also incredibly grateful for Arlene, Ricalyn, and Abee, the private duty caregivers who sensitively and warmly served Russell’s care needs these last few years.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Samaritan's Purse which Russell had a small hand in encouraging during its formative period.