Obituary of Shirley Wells

Shirley Jean Wells was born Shirley Jean Hunter on January 24th,1940 in Plunketteville, Oklahoma to Virgil Hunter and Lita Faye Rae. She was the 5th of 6 children and her older sister, Betty, helped to name her after Shirley Temple, a famous movie star at the time. Her first few years were spent in the woods of eastern Oklahoma where they lived in a barn with wood heat, used an outhouse, and had to go to the creek for their water. Her father died from a rheumatic heart condition when she was 8 years old and the whole family moved to Holden, Washington to live with her sister and her husband. They lived there for a few years in a mining community where the only access was by boat and they would get so much snow that they had to tunnel through the snow to get between buildings and the only travel was by foot. They eventually settled in Wenatchee, Washington where she graduated from high school. She was a friend to everyone and became dear to an elderly neighbor who would like to have adopted her and who did introduce her to her savior, Jesus Christ. After graduation she had enough money saved to start college at NNC in Nampa, Idaho While there, she and a friend happened to look through a yearbook from the college and saw the picture of a cute guy who had attended there. She was sure she had met him before at a church camp in Washington state and said so to her friend. Her friend didn’t believe her and dared her to write to him, so she did. That cute guy lived in Spokane, Washington and got her letter when he came home from college on break. His sister teased him about this perfumed letter and dared him to write back, so he did. So they got acquainted on a dare and married on October 14th, 1960 over 63 years ago. They came to Nampa, Idaho when her husband, Gilbert started a new job with Amalgamated Sugar. They moved every 2-3 years of their married life until they purchased their farm in Parma, Idaho and settled down there for the next 40+ years only to move once after that to the hilltop a few hundred yards away so Shirley could look out over the river and enjoy the beautiful view. Shirley was a little evangelist wherever she went; always sharing the love of her Jesus with any she met. Shirley also got to take her evangelizing to China and Japan on a missions trip in 2004 with friends and built many memories there also. She also loved to have family and friends get-togethers whether it was for food or prayer or games or just lots of visiting; she was our social butterfly. She loved her flowers and baking breads and giving gifts. She and Gilbert raised 4 children, had many friends, and touched many lives. She is survived by her husband, Gilbert Wells; her children Annelle Wells, Kevin and his wife Brendakay Wells, and Julie and her husband Terry Whinery; 4 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; and numerous friends. We will miss her greatly.