Eugene (Gene) Milton Wells was born on November 30, 1933, to Francis Edward and Adah Elizabeth Bath Wells, in Omaha, Nebraska. He grew up in the small mid-western farming town of Auburn, Nebraska, 70 miles south of Omaha, where the family had interests in banking, real estate and farming. He and his older brother Frank loved playing football and other outdoor sports, and together they joined the Boy Scouts of America and would eventually both earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
Gene was an excellent student and lettered in football and track during his High School years. He also played trumpet, was a member of a trumpet trio, and marched with the band in many town fairs and played during evening concerts in the park. His greatest accomplishment was editor of the school yearbook, and he had the honor of being named Best High School Sportswriter in the the state at the Nebraska High School Press Convention during his senior year.
He attended the University of Nebraska, joined the Sigma Chi fraternity and received a B.S. in Business Administration. While attending college he met Janice (Jan) Margaret Skiff. They married after graduation on June 18, 1955, and moved to Los Angeles, while Gene attended UCLA, and received his Masters in Journalism. Upon graduation they flew to Iceland, where Gene served a two year term in the US Army as an information specialist. They moved back to the states, and Gene held advertising and editorial positions with weekly newspapers in Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. They also began their family and had three daughters, Cathy, Sheri and Julie.
In 1963 Gene became owner-publisher of a tri-weekly newspaper in Delta, Colorado. A baby boy, Steven Eugene, was born in Delta, but sadly died at six weeks from a heart defect. During this time, Gene also began what would become a lifetime of community volunteerism through his membership in the local Rotary Club, and was also elected president of the Delta Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Colorado Press Association and became president of that statewide organization in 1971. In 1972, after acquiring two other neighboring community newspapers, he sold them and joined the New York Times Co. as publisher of one of their affiliated newspapers in Sebring, Florida and the family enjoyed living in the Florida sunshine! Once again, Gene served as president of the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club, and in 1975 he was elected Sebring Man of the Year. In 1978, he was offered a job with McClatchy Newspapers in Sacramento. The family eventually located in Gilroy where Gene became publisher of the Gilroy Dispatch.
At this point he and his wife counted 17 moves, with each of their four children having been born in a different state! In 1985, Gene left the newspaper business and studied for a CA Real Estate license. He worked for Red Carpet and Prudential Realty before partnering with his longtime friend, Bill Reimal. Wells & Reimal Real Estate sold residential and commercial properties, and they were known for their honesty, integrity and expertise, and for being the best in the business. While living in Gilroy, Gene served as President of the Rotary Club, was an officer of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce and was Director of the Wheeler Hospital Foundation and a member of the Economic Development Committee.
He was also instrumental in the beginning years of the Gilroy Foundation, and was a founding board member in 1980. He served as Vice-president from 1985-1986, and President from 1986-1990. In 1988, during his presidency, the idea of a signature event was created which would bring attention to the Foundation and its mission. That event is known today as A Day in the Country – now in its 37th year! He truly believed that you can make a difference in your community by volunteering, and that through dedicated volunteerism you can help bring about positive change. Along with outdoor hobbies such as golf, tennis and walking, Gene loved to read whether it was fiction or non-fiction and especially loved American history. He also developed a love and passion for gardening and growing roses and at one time had over 75 different varieties of roses in his home garden.
In 2000, he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which marked a very sweet time in his life, and he was never happier. In 2004, he and his wife Jan retired to Boise, Idaho, to be near daughter Sheri and her husband Jeff, but relocated back to CA, in 2008, as his wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. They bought a home in the Sun City Del Webb Senior Community in Lincoln (40 minutes from daughter Julie and her husband David). In 2012, they made the move back to Gilroy and became residents in the Assisted Living section of the Village Green/Merrill Gardens Senior Living facility. Gene loved reconnecting with old friends, and living down the road from his daughter Cathy and son-in-law Ray.
Not long after the move back to Gilroy, unbelievably, Gene was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. On November 23, 2013, his lovely wife Jan passed away, and because he missed her so much and needed a change in scenery, he moved to a Senior Living facility in Spanish Fork, Utah, just five minutes from where his daughter Sheri and her husband were living. While in Utah, he enjoyed visiting church sites, attending church conferences and live concerts of his beloved Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
This past May, because the disease was progressing, his family found it necessary to move him to a Memory Care Unit, located in Highland, Utah, a short drive from daughter Julie and her husband, who had recently relocated there. On Tuesday, December 20, at 5:10 A.M. he quietly and peacefully passed away. He had an exceptional work ethic, he was fair and honest and always on time, he was very meticulous and organized and believed in the value of hard work and integrity, and in always telling the truth things he learned from boyhood. His business was his life’s work, but his family was his pride and joy and he loved them all so very much.
He is survived by daughters Cathy (Ray) Mirelez, Sheri (Jeff) Shepard, Julie (David) Boswell, and grandsons Jacob, Josh, Luke (Summer), Caleb (Allison & great grandson Jack), Zachary and Sam; niece Denise Wells Nipper and nephew Frank W. Wells. He is predeceased by his beautiful wife Jan, baby son Steven, darling granddaughter Keira, his mother, father, brother Frank and sister-in-law Phyllis Wells, as well as in-laws and many special friends, who have been anxiously waiting to welcome him home. We can only imagine his reaction as he walked through a door into a beautiful new world, and was not only greeted by loved ones, but will now be able to view Gods heavenly landscape.
Services will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7999 Miller Ave., in Gilroy at 10:30 AM, on Friday, December 30, 2016.
For online condolences please visit www.habingfamilyfuneralhome.com.
