Listed in the 1930 Mt Vernon census with his wife, mother, and younger sister. He had been married a year, and was a draftsman for an engine works manufacturer.
He was still working as a draftsman (38, OH) in the 1940 census, with his wife Ruth Anne (39, OH) and children Robert John Jr (9), David T. (8), Mary Carolyn (4), Martha Jean (1) and his widowed mother Cloa A. (66, OH).
Robert was a lifelong resident of Mount Vernon, Ohio, a retired Cooper-Bessemer draftsman, a lifelong member of the Mulberry Street Methodist Church and a member of the K of P Lodge.  He was survived by daughters Carolyn Hagedorn of Farmington, MI and Jean Frary of North White Plains, NY - also survived by sons Robert J Wells Jr and David T Wells , both of Mount Vernon, OH