Robert Wells' Obituary
Robert (Bob) Lee Wells, 84, of Centerville passed away Saturday, June 14th, 2014 at the Good Samaritan Society in Red Oak, Iowa surrounded by his family. Bob was born to Don and Norine (Barnthouse) Wells on March 21, 1930 in Cozad, NE. Raised among three brothers and a sister; he picked up lifelong hobbies of hunting and fishing. He graduated from Numa High School where he met Beverly Martin. They were married on June 17, 1951 at the Numa Methodist Church. They raised four children, Barry, Tammy, Bobby and Penny, in several communities in Iowa. Bob received his Master's degree from Northeast Missouri State College. He taught Social Studies and coached many sports in several schools including Cincinnati, Udell , Russell and Corydon. One of Bob's highlights was taking the Russell High School boys basketball team to state in 1958 and receiving 4th place overall. He became principal at Lost Nation Community School and eventually took the job as Superintendent of schools in Charlotte. He left Charlotte and then served as superintendent at Southeast Warren, East Union of Afton, Denver, Iowa, and Moravia. He then took a job with the State of Iowa as the State Assistant Apiarist. He inspected colonies of bees and held classes on beekeeping. Bob also owned and ran a beekeeping business with his son, Bobby. Upon retirement, Bob returned to education and was principal at St. Mary's Catholic School in Centerville, Iowa. A total of 32 years were spent in education, impacting the lives of young men and women who benefited from his knowledge, kindness and dedication to them. Bob enjoyed the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing. He also liked camping and travelling out West. According to his family, it wasn't a vacation to Bob, unless they went West. He will be greatly missed by his surviving family; wife, Beverly Wells of Centerville; four children, son Barry (Marsha) Wells of Centerville, daughter, Tammy (Rick) Boyer of Stanton, IA, Bobby (Mary) Wells of Rathbun, IA and Penny (Flint) Salladay of Udell, IA; 10 grandchildren. Jeremy (Nicole) Wells, Jason (Mandy) Wells, Jennifer (Kevin) Schlomer, Michelle (Tom) Doyle, Elizabeth Boyer, Melissa Boyer, Austin Salladay, Autumn (Justin) Starr, Jackie Wells and Matt Wells; and 9 great grandchildren who affectionately called him "Grandpa #1." He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Bill, Bernard and Jerry Wells; and one sister Betty Grundy and her husband Robert. Visitation for Bob will be held from 6-8:00 p.m., Monday, June 16th, 2014 at Thomas Funeral Home. Funeral Service will be at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday June 17th, 2014 at the First Baptist Church in Centerville with Pastor Lloyd Johnston and Brian Hargrave officiating. Inurnment will be at Numa Cemetery at a later date. Memorials may be given to 1st Baptist Church or Alzheimer's Foundation. Condolences may be shared at www.thomasfh.com. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Robert Wells please visit our Sympathy Store. Visitation JUN 16. 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (CDT) Thomas Funeral Home - Centerville 501 North 18th StreetCenterville, IA 52544[emailprotected] Service JUN 17. 2:00 PM (CDT) First Baptist Church 603 W. State St.Centerville, IA 52544
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