When it came to education, Lawrence F. Wells was a man who put his money where his mouth was.
And, so it was that a hush fell over the congregation at Bright Hope Baptist Church many years ago on Education Sunday when Wells rose to offer a $500 scholarship trust fund for each child whose parents would at least match his contribution.
Then, about seven years ago, he announced his creation of a $1,000 annual college scholarship for a worthy church youth in honor of his wife, Lillie P. Wells.
As a longtime trustee and church treasurer who supported programs for senior citizens and children, taught computer literacy and dreamed of creating a computer center at the church, Larry Wells was a pillar at Bright Hope for more than 50 years.
Wells, a metallurgist, Navy vet and amateur photographer who enjoyed traveling and solving word puzzles, died of heart failure Sunday at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital while recovering from spinal surgery. He was 72 and lived Tioga.
He was a founding member and past president of the Citywide Trustees Association.
His own children nicknamed him "The Saint." No wonder, his homemade biscuits were so, well, heavenly.
"That man could make some mean biscuits," raved Deacon William Raymond, Bright Hope's church clerk. "They were so light and fluffy."
Raymond said he discovered Wells' culinary expertise when Wells invited him over for dinner one night.
"I ate, like, 10 biscuits. Then, when I left, I asked him, 'Could you make me some more biscuits for Sunday?'"
Wells showed up with a batch of biscuits the next Sunday, but they didn't last long.
"I took them up to the choir loft and ate them," Raymond confessed.
While church was going on?
"While church was going on!"
Wells worked at Univac in Blue Bell for more than 25 years before retiring in the mid-1980s. He used electron microscopes, computers and other gadgets to look for imperfections in metals and held several patents in the field.
He also helped form UniBlack, an on-the-job support group for African-Americans working at Univac, and taught computer literacy at the Northeast Frankford Boys and Girls Club.
After retiring in the mid-1980s, he was a consultant for EMLS, an electron scanning outfit in Collingswood, N.J.
Born in Philadelphia, Wells graduated from Thomas Edison High School and earned an engineering degree at Temple University in 1956. He married Ovella Guest in 1948 and served in the Navy, taking recon photos during World War II and the Korean War.
