Marie Irene Wells

Marie I. Wells, age 96, of Laurens, Iowa and formerly of Marathon, Iowa, passed away on November 25, 2021 at the Laurens Care Center in Laurens. 

Memorial services will take place Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Marathon. To watch the live stream of the service, use the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87428565905?pwd=bWlNWS9uYk1IU2lHeUtjMHdLKzBsQT09 and enter the password: funeral. Burial will be in the Poland Township Cemetery. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Albert City is in charge of the arrangements. 

Marie Irene Taylor was born on July 30, 1925 to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Taylor of Milford, Iowa and was the youngest of eight children. She attended Okoboji country school and graduated from Okoboji High School near Milford in 1943.

Marie then attended Iowa State Teachers College in Waterloo (now UNI) for two years and earned a teaching certificate in elementary education. After teaching in West Bend and Estherville for several years she married Gordon Wells of Marathon in 1947. Three children followed: Marilyn, Larry, and Cheryl.

She returned to teaching in 1953, serving in the Havelock school district until 1959 while taking night school and summer school courses to finish her B.A. The family moved to the A.A. Wells home in Marathon in 1959, and Marie taught remedial reading at the Marathon Consolidate School through 1976. She then trained to become a learning disabilities teacher, working in the Laurens schools until her retirement in 1987, having served the teaching profession for 34 years.

After retiring her adventurous spirit emerged and she took numerous trips with Bertie Paquin and with her daughter, Marilyn, including an Alaskan cruise and white-water rafting, a mule train trip down the Grand Canyon, and a hot air balloon ride on her 80th birthday. She spent many winters in Texas with Irene Johnson where she also did volunteer tutoring in the local schools. She learned to oil paint and produced many still life pictures that we still enjoy. She also took woodworking classes and made two beautiful wall clocks.

Her many other talents included writing poetry and short stories, composing music and lyrics, and she enjoyed ballroom dancing. She had six stories and six poems published and continued writing until shortly before her death.

Marie is survived by her brother, Orville Taylor of Hartley, IA, daughters Marilyn Wells of Phoenix, AZ, and Cheryl (Scott) Frye of Laurens, IA, grandchildren Christina (Scott) Boudewyns of Des Moines, IA, Amanda Frye of Lincoln, NE, Jacob (Melissa) Frye of Lake View, IA, and great-grandchildren Evie, Owen, and Lincoln.

She was preceded in death by her parents Robert and Verna (Wilson) Taylor, sisters Francis (infant), and Mildred (Taylor) Groff, brothers Lloyd (infant), Howard, Dale, and Glen Taylor, and her son, Larry Wells.

She will be remembered for her fiercely independent spirit and her kind and patient teaching of special needs children. In any contest, she was always an avid supporter of the underdog.

The family expresses thanks and appreciation for the wonderful care that Marie received from the staff at the Laurens Care Center and the Hospice nurses that attended her during her final days.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Marie Irene Wells, please visit our floral store.