Ronald D. Wells

Ronald Dee Wells, 63, of Skokie, Illinois, died accidently, on Monday, July 14, 2025 while paddleboarding in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Ron was born September 22, 1961 in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was the third of four children born to the late Ronald Dean and Geraldine Ruth (Jaroe) Wells. Ron grew up in Bucyrus and early in high school years was introduced to theater by one of his teachers, Scott Barkhurst. He looked up to “Frenchie” as one of his mentors and was ever so thankful for being introduced to theater, a passion he lived for the rest of his life. In addition to theater, Ron served as the class president and enjoyed singing in the Bucyrus Players. Following his graduation from Bucyrus in 1979, Ron went on to graduate from Ashland University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in theater. While attending Ashland, he performed in numerous plays. After college, Ron moved to the Chicago area to pursue his acting career and acted in many small Chicago theaters. For his primary income, Ron worked as a bartender at Roscoe’s Tavern. He was grateful for the stories shared and friends made over his 25 years working there. Through Ron’s acting connections, he became associated with The Den Theatre and was a founding member since 2010, doing his best to make the theatre a success. For the past five years, Ron had served as their Chief of Operations. He had the privilege of working with many fellow greats and met some fascinating people along the way. Most notably David Letterman, Patton Oswalt, Tim Meadows, and John Mulaney.

Ron also did voiceover work, and one of his more enjoyable characters was voicing Captain Zidgel during season one of 3-2-1 Penguins, a spinoff of Veggie Tales. Ron was the proud recipient of two Jeff Awards, an award committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theater by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors. Ron received one Jeff Award for acting and the other for directing.

Another of Ron’s passions was traveling and many of his destinations included National Parks or scenic areas where he enjoyed the solitude of tent camping. In more recent years, Ron took great interest in educating himself on stoicism and, through his studies, did his best to live in the present, making the most of every moment.

He was a collector of many things and in his own words…”Obviously, I’m an inveterate collector: matchbox cars, Hardy Boy Mysteries, vintage mixers, model cars, fountain pens, Beatles records,,,why should ukes be any different?!” Ukes refers to his recent love of learning to play the ukulele and picking up a few different ones along the way.

Ron simply loved people, especially those nearest and dearest to his heart. These folks include his siblings, Dan (Roxanne) Wells, Cindy (Dave) Markley, and Linda (Glen) Assenheimer; nieces and nephews, Mick Wells, Michelle (Paul) Garinger, Andrew (Melinda) Markley, Kylie Lohr, Kym Markley, Joel (Laura) Assenheimer, Kyle (Jacqueline) Assenheimer, and Emily (Sean) Zimmer; seventeen great nieces and nephews and one great-great niece.

There were many friends who touched his heart and made life fun. Four of his longtime college buddies and Ron comprised a self-named group they called the “fist;” they were Jim Janisch, Steve Emerson, Mark Bostleman, and Steve Ransom. Another longtime college friend of Ron’s is Bill Paine; and the entire crew at The Den Theatre, including Ryan Martin were Ron’s Chicago family. Each of you played an important role in Ron’s life and he loved you all.

In addition to his parents, Ron was preceded in death by a great niece, Vera Jean Assenheimer.

Ron’s family will hold a memorial visitation from 5-6 pm Friday, July 25 at Wise Funeral Service, 129 W. Warren St., Bucyrus, Ohio, immediately followed by a story of his life, presented by his sister, Linda Assenheimer. There will be some collectables on display and there’s a really good chance that guests will get to use one of his fountain pens to sign in, which would make him smile. Another celebration of his life will be held on Monday, August 4 at The Den Theatre in Chicago with service times to be announced.

If desired, donations can be given to The National Park Foundation at www.nationalparks.org. These gifts will also be accepted through the funeral home and photos, memories, and expressions of sympathy are encouraged to be shared on Ron’s guestbook at www.wisefuneral.com.