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The Mass of Christian burial celebrating and honoring the life of Gene Wells, 87, of Enid will be held at 10:00 A.M. Friday May 7, 2021 in The St. Gregory The Great Catholic Church with Reverend Father Mark Mason officiating.
Services and complete cremation care are under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home.
Condolences and special memories may be shared with the family online at WWW.Brown-Cummings.com.
The Mass of Christian burial celebrating and honoring the life of Gene Wells, 87, of Enid will be held at 10:00 A.M. Friday May 7, 2021 in The St. Gregory The Great Catholic church with Reverend Father Mark Mason officiating.
Services and complete cremation care are under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home.
He was born to William H. and Helen (Tremper) Wells December 20, 1933 in Boonville Indiana where he was raised and educated. He graduated from Boonville High school in 1951. He then received his undergrad and his master’s degree from Evansville University. He then enlisted as an officer in the United States Air Force. He married the love of his life Annie Paoli in La Vienne, France 1967 and came to the United States for a ceremony in Panama City, Florida. He served his country proudly and with distinction for 20 years, retiring in 1977 in Enid Ok. where the couple made their home.
He owned and operated Gene’s Aviation and became a private flight instructor and private pilot.
Gene also taught school at Waller Jr. High and later Longfellow. He was a true teacher and was very passionate and thorough. He absolutely enjoyed teaching children. He started the Golf program at Phillips University. A program that became immediately successful. He along with his wife worked tirelessly growing the program and developing the young golfers into better people. He retired and continued to spend countless hours on the golf course. Gene was a very humble yet very generous man.
He was a longtime member of St. Gregory’s The Great Catholic Church where he established many lifelong friendships.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years Annie of the home; one son Paul Wells and wife Becky; and two grandsons Mason and Miles, of Boulder, Colorado.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Memorials may be made in his name to Hospice Circle of Love or to St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church Sanctuary Fund.
Condolences and special memories may be shared with the family online at WWW.Brown-Cummings.com.
Retired Enid educator and golf coach Gene Wells is being remembered as a “great communicator’’ by friends and colleagues.
Services for Wells, 87, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday in St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church with the Rev. Father Mark Mason officiating.
Wells, who retired at VanceAir Force Base in 1977 after 20 years in the service, taught geography and coached golf at both Waller and Longfellow junior high schools before starting the Phillips University golf program.
“He lived an interesting life,’’ said John Wright, who was the principal at Longfellow when Wells taught there. “He sure loved to tell stories. He was a nice guy that was liked by everybody.’’ Wells never saw teaching junior high — often considered to be the most challenging — to be that difficult, Wright said. “I don’t think he thought it was tough,’’ Wright said. “He did it because it was something he wanted to do and it was fun. He did it because he enjoyed teaching.’’ He was a good communicator “because he liked to talk so much,’’ Wright said. That would carry on to the classroom. Wright couldn’t pinpoint “anything special’’ about Wells’ secret except he had what it took to be a mentor and teacher. “He spent a lot of time with them,’’ Wright said. “He See GENE WELLS, Page A3
GENE WELLS Continued from Page A1 tried to explain things so everybody could understand. They really liked him, and he really liked them.’’ He was a natural to teach geography, Wright said, because of his Air Force travels, which included three tours of Vietnam. His wife, Annie, is a native of France. “He had a lot of knowledge about a lot of different places,’’ Wright said. Wells, while known as a storyteller, would not talk much about his Vietnam experiences. “From what I understand, he was a great pilot,’’Wright said. Wells owned and operated Gene’s Aviation and became a private flight instructor and private pilot. “His two favorite things to talk about, other than his son (Paul), were flying and golf,’’ Wright said. “Some of his most fun ones were when he was hauling around rodeo cowboys.’’ In the summers he would fly prominent rodeo stars, like Roy Cooper, as they tried to make two or three rodeos a day to accumulate points. “There were a lot of good times,’’ Wright said. Wells started out as a substitute teacher, but later became a full-time instructor. “He knew what he was getting into,’’ Wright said. “He wanted to provide something to those kids and they responded because of it.’’
Oakwood Country Club golf pro Tim Mendenhall said Wells was a “great person for junior golf.’’ Wright said Wells’ players “seemed to respond to him’’ while he was coaching at Longfellow. When Mendenhall was asked by Phillips officials for a recommendation for a coach in the early 1990s, Mendenhall gave them Wells’ name. “I knew how much he loved golf and being around the kids,’’ Mendenhall said. “He could relate to players really well. He did everything he could for the player. He always went beyond the call of duty.’’ Mendenhall said his proteges included Jay Mitchell, a golf pro in West Texas; Brandon Alexander, a teaching pro in Palm Springs; and Kyley Tetley, a teaching pro at Indian Springs in Tulsa. “He inspired a lot of kids to be golf professionals,’’ Mendenhall said. Mendenhall agreed with Wright that Wells had a knack for communicating with young kids, especially those in junior high. “He disciplined those kids on the golf teams, but he did it the right way,’’ Mendenhall said. “He was passionate. He just had the personality and knack to get along with all of those kids. It was just amazing what he was able to do with them. Those kids listened to him because they knew he was a compassionate individual.’’ Wells, in retirement, helped with Oakwood Country Club’s junior golf program in the summers “until he just couldn’t do it anymore,’’ Mendenhall said. “Those kids called him Geno,’’ Mendenhall said. “He gave those kids 100%. He just didn’t go through the motions.’’ Wells himself was a good player, Mendenhall said. He often would be accompanied by his dog, Paris, on both the driving range and the course. “He was not a young person at this time, but he would carry his own bag and walk the course,’’ Mendenhall said. “Paris would be walking up with him. “He had a lot of energy. He would love to talk golf, the golf swing, the PGA Tour … golf was his passion. He loved every minute of it.’’
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