Ruth Wells

Ruth Jean (Rhea) Wells, born July 12, 1926 with her twin sister in Russell, KS, died April 27, 2021 in Lakewood, CO. Ruth, her parents, twin sister and older brother lived in Russell until 1931, when they moved to a farm six miles west of Oakley, KS. She helped her Dad run the farm while her brother was in the Army during World War II. Ruth graduated from Oakley High School in 1944, and was attending Kansas State University when she met her future husband, John David Wells of Elmdale, KS. They were married in 1947, and lived in Manhattan until they moved to Colorado in 1951. Although she lived in Colorado most of her life, Ruth was very proud of her Kansas heritage, and wrote “Memories of a Kansas Farm Girl” to share stories of growing up in Kansas with her children and her friends. Ruth was a homemaker and mother to her three children, and a member of the League of Women Voters, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Mayflower Society. She was especially proud of her 50-plus years with the LWV, serving on as the League’s National Lobby Corp in the 1960’s, and being President of the Jefferson County (CO) League from 1991 to 1993. She also volunteered with the Girl Scouts and the Methodist Church in Lakewood. Ruth enjoyed traveling with her husband and kids, and visited many States as well as United Kingdom, Europe, China, Russia and Australia, often to collect genealogical information or play golf. Ruth was predeceased by her parents, her brother Harold, her husband almost 66 years, John David, and by her eldest son Richard. She is survived by her twin sister Lillian, of Oakley, KS; daughter Deborah Walsh (Robert); son Thomas (Resa); Daughter-in-Law Dale; five grandsons and two great grandsons. She was interred at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver with her husband. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in her memory be made to the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County, at lwvjeffco.org.