Editor’s note: We are sad to report the passing of the father of our friend and longtime contributor Tom Darling.
Wells Anderson Darling, marine industry executive, yachtsman, devoted husband, father and grandfather passed away on September 25 at his home in Exeter, NH at the age of 96. His wife, Mary Will Boone Darling, his four children, Tom Darling, Molly Darling, Wendy Darling Lotz and Bill Darling, his nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren survive him.
Born in Bronxville, New York on February 7, 1928, Wells graduated from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers in 1945 and entered the Navy as a naval aviator. He graduated from Princeton in 1950. He spent more than thirty-five years in the aerospace and boating industry in Long Island and Rhode Island, retiring as President of Grumman Corporation’s commercial businesses including Grumman Boats and Pearson Yachts.
He was an avid sailor in Long Island Sound and Southern New England with a series of boats named Kachina. He served as Commodore of Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club and the Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport, RI.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his memory to Sail Newport, 72 Fort Adams Drive, Newport, RI 02840 or sailnewport.org. ■
