WELLS, Helen "Renee" (Welborn) - b. October 7, 1941 - d. March 29, 2024

[patyrn]

Helen "Renee" Wells, age 82, of Grenola, Kansas, passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer on March 29, 2024 at her home.  She was born October 7, 1941 in Independence, Missouri, the daughter of William Harold and Helen (Thompson) Welborn.

Renee spent her early childhood years in Independence, Missouri before the family moved to the farm in the Grenola area in 1954.  She graduated from Grenola High School in 1959 and then attended Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas.

Renee was united in marriage to Richard Wells on July 19, 1959 at the Grenola United Methodist
Church.  The couple made their home in Winfield, Kansas and Douglass, Kansas before moving to Grenola to purchase the hardware and lumberyard there.  She was a stay-at-home mom, helping parttime at the business and parttime as a USPS clerk.  In August 1999, she became Postmaster in Grenola, retiring in 2012.

Her family includes her husband, Richard of the home; her children, Melanie (Todd) Hockenbury of Arkansas City, Kansas, Debbie (Darryl) Littrell of Cedar Vale, Kansas, Jeff (Janelle) Wells of Scranton, Kansas, and Denise (Jake) Liebau of Grenola, Kansas; 13 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; brother, Rocky (Joan) Welborn; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 4 , 2024 at Countryside Funeral Home in Howard, Kansas.  Funeral service will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 5, 2024 at the Grenola Christian Church in Grenola, Kansas with burial to follow in Greenlawn Cemetery near Grenola.  Memorial contribuions can be made to the Grenola Senior Center, Grenola Elevator Museum, or the Grenola Community Building and may be mailed to or left with the funeral home.  Services have been entrusted to Countryside Funeral Home, 206 E. Washington, Howard, Kansas 67349.

(taken from the Countryside Funeral Home website)