J. Wesley "Wes" Fletcher  '39  died at home Sunday, May 2, 2004 at the age of 83, surrounded by his family, including his wife of nearly 53 years, Nannette.  A life long resident of the Pasadena area, Wes was born in Los Angeles on October 12, 1920.  He was the son of the late Judge Louis and Gertrude Fletcher, brother of the late Judge Daniel Fletcher and is survived by his sister Marjorie Deniston.

In his youth, Wes was active in the South Pasadena Methodist Church and South Pasadena YMCA.  He attended South Pasadena schools, graduating from South Pasadena-San Marino High School in 1939.  At the outbreak of  World War II, Wes enlisted in the US Navy serving as a Pharmacist's Mate lst Class in the South Pacific on the medical transport ship USS Tryon.

After the war, he received his BS in biochemistry from USC.  He began his career at Kern County General Hospital in Bakersfield, where he met and married Nannette.  Wes went on to become a licensed bioanalyst, directing several clinical laboratories for over 45 years including J. Wesley Fletcher Laboratories in South Pasadena and Pasadena.

Wes and Nannette settled in South Pasadena and San Marino raising five children; Mary Marthe of Pasadena, Joseph Fletcher of Santa Ana, Victoria Clauss of South Pasadena, Susan Sokul of Concord, New Hampshire, and Margaret Cannon of Tustin.  After retirement, Wes and Nannette divided their time between homes in Pasadena and on Balboa Island in Newport Beach.  Summers became a special time for Wes, which he shared with his brood of 14 grandchildren.  He will be very much missed by Jim and Chrissy Marthe; Daniel, Katherine & Louis Fletcher; Sarah, Thomas, Rachael and Andrew Clauss; Fletcher and Mack Sokul; and Patrick, Stephen, and Timothy Cannon.