Douglas C Wells

Douglas C. Wells, age 79, passed peacefully on Thursday, April 7th. He was born January 30, 1943 to the late Robert and Rosanna (Prueter) Wells. He had many fond memories growing up in Sidney, Ohio on the Wells Family Farm where he found his love for horseback riding and fishing.

After graduating from Sidney high school in 1960, he joined the United States Marine Corps, serving his country as a part of the Crash Rescue Crew from 1960-1962. After serving in the Marines Corp, Doug continued his education and graduated from not only the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy in 1964 but the National Training Center of Polygraph Science in 1970. His career was nothing short of amazing; he was a staff lieutenant in the Ohio State Highway Patrol (1964-1990) retiring after 26 years; security consultant for the Ohio Department of Mental Health (1991-1994); Deputy Director in charge of Liquor & Food stamp Enforcement (1994-1995) and a civilian polygraphist for the Columbus Police Department.

Doug will be fondly remembered by those whose lives he touched for many things – brave and loyal soldier, hardworking and passionate law enforcement professional, and loving husband and father. He is survived by his loving wife Karen Uncapher Wells, children Lauren Ann (Bill) Antoniak; David P. (Laura Marie) Wells; Molly (Tom) McPheron; grandchildren, Erin Wells, Megan Wells, John Wells, Joshua (Natalie) McPheron and Jack McPheron. A visitation will be held on April 30, from 2pm until 5pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/about-us/local/ohio.html.

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Douglas C. Wells, simply known as “dad” to my older sister, brother and myself, was blessed with the rare fortune of having a career, which I believe, that he truly loved. When I listened to him tell stories about his life and career, I was always amazed by new pieces of information that I had never heard before. I was also always amazed at how vividly he remembered the details of every story.

Dad began his life living with his family on the “Wells Farm” in Sidney, Ohio in a house that had neither running water nor indoor bathroom facilities. As he grew to be a teenager, Dad became very involved in Boy Scouts and rose to the rank of Eagle Scout. At the age of 17, he joined the United States Marine Corps and after boot camp was trained to work on the Crash Rescue Crew and was stationed at the Naval Air Station at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

After the completion of his military service , Dad decided to apply to become an Ohio State Highway Patrolman. Because he was only 20 years old at the time and not old enough to start training at the Highway Patrol Academy, Dad worked as a Cadet Dispatcher for the Patrol until he turned 21. After turning 21 and completing training at the Highway Patrol Academy, he worked as a uniformed Trooper for several years on the Ohio Turnpike.

In 1968, Dad was promoted to the position of plain clothes investigator within the General Headquarter Investigation Section of the Highway Patrol. During his 26 years of service with the Highway Patrol, Dad was involved in countless high profile investigations. He was a primary investigator on the shooting that occurred at Kent State University in 1970 that was the result of protests during the Vietnam War. Dad personally interviewed all 106 Ohio National Guardsmen involved. Dad was also heavily involved in the investigation of patient abuse at the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

In 1970, Dad attended and graduated from the National Training Center of Polygraph Science in New York City at the request of the State Highway Patrol. After becoming a trained polygraphist, Dad used his polygraph skills to help in thousands of investigations that he performed for the State Highway Patrol. As a matter of fact, one of his polygraph examinations led to a landmark Ohio Supreme Court Case (Souel vs Ohio) which allowed results of stipulated polygraph examinations to be admissible as evidence in criminal trials. Dad went on to become a voted life member of the Ohio Association of Polygraph Examiners after serving four terms as both vice president and president and being awarded 78 commendations from police and governmental agencies for outstanding performance.

In 1990, Dad retired from the State Highway Patrol General Headquarters at the rank of Staff Lieutenant. In his position as an executive officer, he had been responsible for the investigation, polygraph, crime lab, statehouse security and executive protection details.

After retiring from a 26 year career with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Dad went on to work in several other notable positions. Dad worked as a Security Consultant for the Ohio Department of Mental Health from 1991-1994 where he served as chief investigator and supervised police officers at 12 state mental hospitals and all mental wards on all state prisons and detention facilities. From 1994-1995, Dad worked as the Deputy Director in charge of Liquor and Food Stamp Enforcement- Investigative Unit where he was in charge of 95 liquor and food stamp agents. He then went on to work in several executive level positions in loss prevention with Limitedbrands, Inc.

Dad went on to become a partner in a private polygraph practice, The Polygraph Bureau, Ltd., where he and his colleagues conducted criminal and civil polygraph examinations for legal professionals and local police agencies, and acted as polygraph consultants in applicant selection and investigator training for local governmental agencies and private companies. Dad’s most recent position before retirement was as a civilian polygraphist with the Columbus Police Department. In this position, Dad was responsible for criminal, internal and pre-employment polygraph examinations for the Columbus Police Department.

In addition to being a very accomplished law enforcement professional, my father was the best dad and grandfather anyone could ever ask for. I cannot think of a single instance when my siblings or I had a school function or extra-curricular activity that my father was not present for (and dressed in a suit and tie, I might add). Dad always went out of his way to be “present” in each of our lives and that is something we will always cherish.