Gary “Bud” Thurman Wells was born December 9, 1945 to Orville and Media Wells in
Payette, Idaho. He joined brother Ed and sister Charolette and the three remained close
throughout their lives.
The family moved from Payette to Quincy, WA when Bud was in the sixth grade and he
graduated a proud ‘Jackrabbit’ in 1964. While attending WSU he met Carol Chandler when
they worked together at the Bookie/Student Book Corporation. Their flirty friendship led to
a happy and loving marriage of almost 58 years.
Halfway through his education, Uncle Sam interrupted things with a draft notice sending
him to Ft. Lewis and then Ft. Gordon, Georgia. Bud and Carol were married December 17,
1967, immediately before he was shipped off to Camp Casey, Seoul, Korea for the next
year.
If not for his ability to type, he probably would have been a ground pounder, instead he
received a top-secret crypto clearance and was responsible for destruction of coded
messages during the time of the Pueblo incident. He was a proud veteran and very patriotic
man.
After being discharged from the Army, Bud and Carol made their first home in Wenatchee
for a few months, before returning to Pullman where Bud finished his education. He
graduated with a degree in Business Administration/Marketing in January 1971. His first job
was with Bechtel Corp. at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant in Southern Maryland.
In September 1971, Shannon was born in Annapolis, Maryland. During the next year Bud
and Carol realized they were way too far from home and had had enough of the East Coast.
The Family of three moved back to Washington, soon finding a home they loved in Benton
City.
In November 1975, Ryan was born in Richland making the family complete. Bud joined his
brother Ed’s company, Desert Computing and then transitioned into employment at
Hanford. Throughout his career there he had various job titles-Project Engineer, Project
Manager, Environmental Scientist to name a few. He retired from work at Hanford in 2011.
He had planted a vineyard of Merlot wine grapes in 1994 and now enjoyed spending more
time doing what he loved-farming. He was proud of his vineyard and had the satisfaction of
growing grapes that were the backbone of many award-winning and reserve wines. He was
quietly proud that the quality of his grapes earned him a “Wells Vineyard” vineyard
designate label in 2001.
Bud and Carol enjoyed their quiet life in Benton City with the closeness of family, especially
the kids and grandkids. Shannon & Bud shared a love of the mountains, horses and
camping. There were many trips up the Tucannon/Rainbow Lake with our little Shasta
trailer. There we enjoyed trail rides with the horses Pepsi & Doc. Bud and Ryan had a great
father-son working relationship when it came to getting projects done. They always
seemed to be on the same page with their ideas… whether right or wrong. Bud looked
forward to annual hunting trips with Ryan and other family members and friends. His
adventurous side took him on many whitewater rafting trips including overnight trips on the
Grande Ronde, Smith, Salmon and Hells Canyon section of the Snake River.
The same sense of adventure took him to the skies. He had a Private Pilot license and
owned a Beechcraft Sundowner for a period of time. Fearlessly and confidently, he loaded
up the family of four into the plane for wonderful flights throughout the Northwest.
After grounding the flights, Bud and Ryan enjoyed going and watching Indy Car races at PIR
(Portland International Raceway). After seeing how much fun they were having on these
trips, Carol and Shannon invited themselves along and ruined their fun… dragging them
from one shopping mall to the next.
Bud and Carol loved their trips to the Oregon Coast with stops for antiquing and wine
tasting along the way. Any trip to Portland would include a stop at Andy & Bax River Raft
Supply. They always had a concert coming up to look forward to, sometimes 3 or 4 at a time
if it was Neil Diamond. Bud could always find something that needed done in the vineyard
or something that needed fixed. Vineyard work ended early on hot summer days and he
and Carol would spend long afternoons floating/napping in the pool with their favorite
music playing in the background.
Bud was a hero to his family. But, not just to his family, there are a couple of people out
there that owe their lives to his actions. Like the lady at Pizza Hut that was choking that he
revived, and the kid he saved from drowning at Horn Rapids. But being a hero isn’t
necessarily about heroic acts. It’s the values and traits that you hold close. It’s the
measure of a man. Bud was our hero.
There’s going to be a huge empty spot for those he leaves behind. To Carol, their 58 years
together wasn’t nearly enough. To his amazing kids, Shannon and Ryan, he loved every
minute spent with them. Our family was blessed with the addition of Son-in-law, RJ Miles
and Daughter-in-law, Stacy Sizemore. He will be missed by five adored and adoring
Grandkids-The Miles Boys-Nathan, Matt and Sean, Brayden Wells and Katey Sizemore. He
was just getting to know his two sweet Great Grandkids-Riley and Wylder. He will also be
missed by Nathan’s wife, Katie and Matt’s wife, Marida. If we said it once, we said it a
million times-We are the luckiest.
Bud was preceded in death by his parents Media & Orville, and brother Ed. Bud is survived
by a sister, Charolette Harper, Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law Perry & Linda Chandler, and
many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Bud was known to be very physical and hardworking but over the last couple of years he
began to tire easily and lose strength in his arms and legs. While not specifically diagnosed,
he apparently had a Neuro Muscular Degenerative condition.
Concerned about grape harvest in both his vineyard and Ryan’s, he couldn’t let go until he
was satisfied that everything was finished and had gone OK. Once convinced of that, he
decided he could quietly step aside.
Before he had to winterize that place one last time.
We lost Him September 22nd at Kadlec Hospital. He was tired and ready to go. We will do
our best to carry on without him. We will miss him beyond words.
A Remembrance of Bud’s life will be held on Saturday, September 27 at 3:00pm at 107105
West King Tull Rd, Prosser, WA (Ryan and Stacy’s house).