Alwyn Ely Wellman

On May 9, 1923, Alwyn "Bud" Wellman was born in Los Angeles, California; as 1 of 6 children, with three older sisters and two younger brothers. At the age of 8, Bud and his family moved from LA to San Diego where he remained with his family until 1940. In that year, they made a scenic change to La Center, Washington. At the age of 18 Bud left his family in La Center, and decided to move back to San Diego to pursue a job in construction work. Between 1940 and 1943, Bud traveled between San Diego, Ca; Vancouver, WA and Kodiak, Alaska working in the construction trade and ship yards. In 1943, Bud entered into the Army Air Corp as a bomb jockey loading bombs and ammunition on the planes. He was stationed primarily at March Field, CA; Ephrata Air Base, WA; and in 1945 was sent to Hawaii where he was stationed at several locations. During Bud's years in the military, he met his beautiful wife, Vada Trowbridge in 1943. They exchanged correspondence for several months, and eventually were married after 3 dates in September of 1944. Once out of the military in 1946, he returned to Vancouver, WA to continue carpentry work, and was soon looking for a new career, after five months of no work. His new career ambitions found himself at Uniroyal. In 1958 Uniroyal transferred Bud to the Seattle branch. In addition to his 14 years with Uniroyal, Bud also joined in 1948 with the Washington National Guard, where he continued to serve his country until 1958, leaving the 146th Field Artillery as a commissioned Captain. In 1965, Bud and his family moved from Seattle, WA to Portland, OR where he went to work for Reynolds Metal, and shortly after began working for Empire Rubber and eventually to AB Boyd, where Bud retired in 1985. In 1969 Bud built a house in Vancouver, WA as his new residence and a few years later built a vacation home on Anderson Island in the Puget Sound. Bud always enjoyed golfing, camping, fishing, and wood working. He has always been a strong supporter of the Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Seahawks, and the Seattle Mariners. Vada and Bud have two children, Marilyn Moody and Doug Wellman. Marilyn and her family reside in the Redding, CA area, while Doug and his family reside near Bud in Molalla, OR. Bud has also been blessed with 4 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.

Alwyn Ely Wellman

May 9, 1923 - August 23, 2016