Long Island, NY - January 31, 2018 - Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) made the following remarks in honor of North Fork farmer Lyle Wells on the Floor of the U.S. House of Representatives:
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Lyle Wells whose family farm is over 350 years old. Lyle was taken from our community too soon. He was a leader, a former president of the Long Island Farm Bureau and a one time member of the Riverhead Town Planning Board. He positively led and left a great impact and legacy on the next generation of farmers who really do need to be better cultivated and given that opportunity to be able to thrive.
Long Island Farm Bureau Administrative Director Rob Carpenter talking about Wells’ impact and a relationship going back decades said, ‘he would take all the time needed to explain a program to anyone who wanted to learn about farming-a legislator, a community member, another farmer. It’s a big loss. You just can’t replace a Lyle.’
It was also observed that ‘everyone would start laughing because of his style of laughter. It was the honor that he graced our community and our town. Him having gone through life in this town made the rest of us better.’ That was the positive impact of Lyle Wells.
The memorial service will be held for Lyle this Thursday, February 1st, beginning at 11am on the hill at Wells’ Homestead Acres, located at 185 Phillips Lane in Aquebogue.
We will pray for Lyle’s family. We are thinking about Lyle, and he will certainly be looking over what hopefully will be 350 more years of great farming on that family farm.”