In a live well-lived, Tom Wellen left behind his last laugh.
“Tom lived most of his life in Marlboro, relocating abruptly to Florida in the mid-seventies but returning 10 years later when the local warrants expired,” the former president/CEO of St. Mary’s Credit Union wrote in his final act of self-expression - a humorous obituary.
Recommended For You
Wellen passed away on May 24 at the age of 73.
In 1994, he became CEO of St. Mary’s Credit Union in Marlborough, Mass., leading the institution for 13 years until stepping down in 2007.
“Tom was an avid sailor having sailed several thousands of hours along the east coasts of Canada, the United States and throughout the Caribbean. While he was on one extended offshore adventure, he was caught in a lengthy meteorite storm,” Wellen wrote. “After the storm finally subsided, he realized he had acquired several superpowers which he later used in a secondary career as an anonymous crime fighter. He eventually had to quit his secret life of crime fighting after developing a rare acute reaction to spandex. The condition was so severe that it led to his eventual demise.”
Wellen’s tongue-in-cheek tribute caught the attention of the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, which featured his obituary Thursday.
“He loved saying off-the-wall stuff just to make people crack up,” his wife Kate Wellen told the newspaper.
That sense of humor may have contributed to his success leading the credit union.
During his tenure, the credit union grew from $170 million in assets, $73.3 million in loans, 47 employees and two branches to $511 million in assets, $388 million in loans, 140 employees, five branches and a loan center.
“Professionally and personally, he was a very special person to deal with because he always put himself on the other side of the equation in trying to be fair and make you feel happier than before you saw him. He was the same with his employees at St. Mary's - caring and staunchly loyal,” Joe and Lisa Delano wrote on Wellen’s tribute page.
Today, St. Mary’s Credit Union employs 114 people who manage $1 billion in assets and $746 million in loans at seven locations, serving nearly 56,000 members.
A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, June 29 from 2-4 p.m. at Slattery Funeral Home, located at 40 Pleasant St. in Marlborough.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tom’s memory to UMass Memorial Cancer Center of Excellence.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at [email protected].
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
