Alice J. Wells

Alice Jane Riddle Wells, of Reynolds, NE, passed away April 10, 2022, at Blue Valley Lutheran Home in Hebron, NE at the age of 91 years old. Alice was born on August 16, 1930, near Gilead, NE to the parents of Harold Leon & Mabel Gertrude (Maxwell) Riddle.

Her family moved to rural Reynolds and later into town. She attended rural schools in both Jefferson & Thayer counties.  Alice graduated from Reynolds High School in 1948. After High School, Alice worked jobs in the area including Hested’s warehouse & Lamberts Cleaners in Fairbury.

She met August Lester Wells at a dance on the square in Fairbury.  They married on May 26 ^th , 1956, at the United Methodist Church in Fairbury.  They resided in Reynolds, where Alice lived in the same home for 63 years.  She moved to the Blue Valley Nursing Home in July of 2020.  They were blessed with one daughter, Linda.

Alice then worked at the Gregory Store in Reynolds and purchased the store in 1980. She ran the store for over 30 years, making more pots of coffee and more sandwiches than one could count.  She loved the community of Reynolds and could not imagine why someone would live anywhere else.

She loved the outdoors.  Gardening, fishing & riding her lawn mower were some of her favorite activities.  Often neighbors would gather just to sit in the yard.  A night would not go by that she did not look at the moon and stars.

She loved watching birds & wildlife, something she had done since she was a little girl growing up on the farm.  Alice had a love for life and all the people in hers.

Alice is survived by her daughter Linda Elwood and husband Jim, sister Frieda Huber and husband Harold, sisters-in-law Helen Riddle, Nelma Riddle, Doris Riddle, Anita Wells & Phyllis Wells, brother-in-law Richard Heorman. Her three grand dogs & her cat Freddie, and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Alice is preceded in death by her husband, August Lester Wells, parents Harold Leon & Mabel Gertrude Maxwell Riddle, mother & father-in-law Agnes Rose & Clarence Wells, sister Margaret Cawley, brothers, Fred, Glen, John, Chub & Dale Riddle, sisters-in-law Grace Riddle, Sally Riddle, Ruth Ginn, Betty Smith, Doris Clark & Marie Heorman, brothers-in-law Lloyd Wells, Carl Wells, Marvin Ginn & Bill Clark.

Services will be Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at Gerdes-Meyer Chapel in Fairbury with Darlene Novotny officiating. The family will greet friends Wednesday evening from 5 - 8 at the funeral home. Memorials to the Family’s Choice. Burial in Rose Creek Cemetery, Reynolds, NE.  Gerdes-Meyer Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.