Obituary of Barclay O. Wellman

Barclay Ormes Wellman, 87, of 1235 Prendergast Ave., Jamestown, passed away unexpectedly Sunday evening, October 8, 2023. He was born in Jamestown on May 13, 1936, a son of the late Albert Austin and Leona Greenlund Wellman. Following Jamestown schools, he attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, with a degree in art history. Barclay's military career began as an officer in the Army Ordinance Corps at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Immediately after Aberdeen, he married the love of his life, Diane Taylor, on July 2, 1960, and together they moved to his next assignment at Guided Missile School at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. After his post at Redstone, they travelled to Sweden where Barclay oversaw the installation of the DEW Line, which was the Distant Early Warning system that protected the West during the Cold War. He then returned to Jamestown, where he assumed a role in the family business, Wellman Brothers, Inc., while continuing his commitment to the military, serving in the Army Reserve for 29 years. He graduated from the Army War College in 1982, eventually attaining the rank of Major General and Commander of the 98th Division (training) based in Rochester, N.Y. In Jamestown, at Wellman Brothers, he helped design and furnish regional homes as well as homes all over the country. Barclay was active in the interior design community, serving as president of the American Institute of Interior Designers (AID), now known as ASID. Barclay retired from Wellman Brothers after six decades in 2019. Barclay was very committed to the Jamestown community and was involved with many local organizations and clubs, including serving as a board member and past president of the Sheldon Foundation, a Lake View Cemetery board member, and a member of the Sportsmen's Club, the Vikings, the Elks Club, the Moose Club, War Vets, the Norden Club, Moon Brook Country Club, Lakewood Yacht Club, Naples Florida Yacht Club, and First Presbyterian Church in Jamestown. Barclay loved the outdoors, especially fishing, and fished all over the United States and Canada. His greatest joy was teaching his grandchildren to fish off the dock of the Sportsmen's Club on Chautauqua Lake. Surviving is his wife of 63 years, Diane Taylor Wellman; their three children: Barclay Ormes "Clay" Wellman, Jr. (Monica) of Arlington, VA, Taylor Wellman (Jill) of Rochester, NY, and Alexandra Wellman (Ryan Fischer) of Pittsburgh, PA; and four grandchildren: Lilly Wellman, Barclay Ormes "Trip" Wellman III, Eloise Fischer and Quinn Fischer. Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Arthur A. Wellman in 2019. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 13th at First Presbyterian Church. Inurnment with Military Honors will be in Lake View Cemetery. Friends will be received from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Lind Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute.