James "Jim" Thomas Wells was born October 6, 1944, in Pryor, Mayes County, Oklahoma, to Tom and Alice Fox Wells. He passed away January 13, 2021, at Via Christi Hospital in Wichita, Kansas, diagnosed with Covid-19.

The family moved from rural Pryor, Oklahoma, in 1951 to Kiowa, Kansas, where he attended school and graduated from Kiowa High School in 1962. He was known in Kiowa as a hard worker helping his dad with his trash hauling business and as being a tough tackle in football at KHS.

He was disappointed that he couldn't serve in the military due to a childhood accident that slightly injured...