Obituary of John Wells

John Dwight Wells, 76, of Arriba, Colorado passed away peacefully at the Lincoln Community Hospital in Hugo, Colorado on June 14, 2010. His three daughters and oldest grandson were by his side at the time of his passing. While John fought his courageous battle with prostrate cancer he continued to maintain a fantastic sense of humor. John was born January 5, 1934, in Frankfort, Kansas, to Mark and Charlotte (Myers) Wells, he was the oldest of four sons. He attended schools in Frankfort and Minneapolis, KS. John graduated from Minneapolis High School in 1951. After high school he enlisted in the Navy on September 9, 1952, and attended boot camp in San Francisco, CA. John served on the USS Warrick AKA #89 as a 1st Class Seaman during the Korean Conflict. He had the opportunity to see many ports of call in the world such as Hawaii, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines to name just a few. After four years of service to his country John returned to Arriba, Colorado where he began his 30-year grain elevator management career. He managed elevators in Arriba, Cedar Bluffs Kansas, Cimarron Kansas, and completed the circle back to Arriba Grain. John married his “red headed doll baby” Louise Koehn on November 16, 1956 in Limon Colorado. Born to this union were three daughters, Debbie, Vicki, and Jodi. Louise passed away in 2001 after a long battle with MS. John was then blessed with a special love that he shared with Vel Vassios in his later years. John loved restoring and racing vintage cars, black powder rendezvous, and bible studies. John was a member of the First Congregational Church in Arriba Colorado where he served as a deacon. John is survived by Vel Vassios, his daughters: Debbie Wells of Flagler, Colorado; Vicki Wells of Queen Creek, Arizona, Jodi and husband Ed Rarick of Flagler, Colorado. His grandsons: Markus Parker of DeWitt, Nebraska, Cass Rarick of Greeley, Colorado and Cody Rarick of Flagler. John’s brothers: Dutch Wells and his wife, Carol, of Tryon, Nebraska and Jim Wells and his wife, Janet, of Overland Park, Kansas. He is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and their spouses and children. He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Louise, his brother Dick Wells and nephew Sid Wells.