Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 at 04:52:30 :
Marin Independent Journal
Monday, December 23, 1985
Section A, page 1
‘Mr. Marin’ dies at 83
Ted Wellman known as ‘towering figure’ in Marin
Theodore C. Wellman of Kentfield, known as the “Mr. Marin of this century” for his efforts in conservation and other causes, died Saturday at the age of 83.
Mr. Wellman apparently shot himself. He was found at his home by a friend.
He had been suffering from cancer and learned Friday that it was irreversible.
His wife, Grace, said, “He’s free. Knowing how miserable he was, I wouldn’t pull him back for five seconds…He did it because he didn’t want those he loved to suffer with him. He was so worried about me.”
He was a retired Standard Oil Co. executive who spent his retirement years in active civic participation. Among other things, he was a past president of the Marin Conservation League and also former president of the Marin Community College District board and the Marin Boy Scouts Council.
He was acknowledged statewide for his leadership in the field of water conservation and the protection of wild rivers, the Delta and San Francisco Bay.
“Ted Wellman was one of the towering figures of this county,” said former state Sen. Peter Behr of Inverness. “He was immensely well-rounded – a champion tennis player and one of our leading conservationists – and all of this for several decades after retiring from a highly successful business career.
“Besides, he was one of the finest gentlemen I ever knew.”
Tributes poured in for the man Supervisor Gary Giacomini called “the most important single individual among the many who have worked very hard and cared a great deal for this county.”
“This is an immeasurable loss,” Giacomini said. “Ted was a prince of a human being and a benefactor to future generations forever.”
Pamela Lloyd of Mill Valley, environmental activist and eight-year member of the board of the Marin Municipal Water District, said Wellman was “the most giving and creative person I’ve ever met.” She said his colleagues on the Bay Area Water Policy Consensus Committee will be stunned: “They loved him and they respected the fact that he knew everything there was to know about water.”
Former Supervisor Peter Arrigoni of Fairfax said Wellman had been his mentor “and an inspiration.”
“he is not really gone. He had left an incredible legacy for us all.”
Former Conservation League President Gloria Duncan of Fairfax, who worked with Wellman for a dozen years on solid waste disposal and the county’s recycling program, called Wellman “the dearest man I ever knew. Oh God, what a loss.”
Wellman and his wife, the former Grace Finn, were honored by 300 people at a 1982 gathering at which Behr called them “Mr. and Mrs. Marin.”
The two were on the cutting edge of Marin’s environmental movement.
Mr. Wellman also was a nationally ranked tennis player.
He was born in Brisbane, Australia, and grew up in various places around the world, completing high school in Oakland. He went on to the University of California, but left after three years to take a job with Standard Oil.
In college he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and participated in numerous sports.
He met his wife-to-be as a student. They were married in her Mill Valley home in 1925.
They settled in an apartment in Ross after their marriage, but shortly afterward began the first of 13 moves in 13 years, the result of company transfers.
In 1938, they returned to Marin and built a home in Kentfield.
During World War II, Mr. Wellman served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy in Washington, where he was in charge of fuel oil procurement for convoys heading for Europe. He received commendations for his work.
After the war, the couple returned to Kentfield.
It was during the ensuing years that Mr. Wellman headed the Kentfield Civic League and the Boy Scouts and served seven years as a college district trustee, including two terms as president.
He also helped start the College of Marin Foundation and served on various committees concerned with state water issues and solid waste management.
In 1966, Mr. Wellman retired early as assistant vice president of Standard Oil in order to pursue his outside interests more effectively.
He served as president of the Marin Conservation League from 1980 to 1982.
In his tenure, he led fights against offshore oil drilling, commercial logging proposals and a move to weaken the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
Meanwhile, he had become an authority on water issues and was chairman of the Marin group that fought the Peripheral Canal.
He continued to play tennis, winning 11 national championships for seniors from 1969 to 1982.
Mr. Wellman also enjoyed trout fishing and painting, doing many pastel scenes of the Marin hills and coastline. He played the piano and ukulele.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Wellman is survived by a brother, Murray T. Wellman of Connecticut.
The Chapel of the Hills in San Anselmo is handling arrangements.
A memorial service will be held later.
The family asked that memorial contributions go to the Marin Conservation League or a favorite charity.
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