When the Atlanta Dogwood Festival planners decided to reshape their iconic event, Lee Wells was one of the women at the table.
A long-time member of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Wells served as festival director in the 1980s and was one of 10 women on the board of directors when the Women’s Chamber decided to relinquish its sponsorship in 1987.
“She was there thorough a very pivotal transition,” said her daughter, Harriette Wells Humphries, of O’Brien, Fla. “And she was glad to lead the festival because she loved it so much.”
Clara Elizabeth Lee Wells, widely known as Lee, died Sept. 2, from complications of pneumonia at her residence in O’Brien. She was 89. A memorial celebration is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Sosebee Funeral Home, Canton. A second celebration has been planned for Oct. 27 in O’Brien. ICS Cremation and Funeral Home, Lake City, Fla., was in charge of the cremation.
Wells, who was born in Kokomo, Miss., and reared in Ft. Meade, Fla., was a 1957 graduate of Atlanta’s Massey Business College. Several years earlier she had married Robert “Bob” Leonard Wells and shortly thereafter, the couple went into the two-way radio and communications business together. The couple had three children; the youngest, Richard Leonard Wells, died in 2000.
After her husband died unexpectedly in 1964, Wells ran the business, Atlanta Communications, until 1985, when she turned the day-to-day reins over to her son, John R. Wells. That same year, she agreed to serve a three-year term as the executive director for the Dogwood Festival. In the early ’90s, she sold a significant portion of the communications business, but didn’t fully retire until she moved to Florida in 2005 for health reasons, her daughter said.
“She was a busy lady,” Wells said of his mother. “She was a member of several business organizations and was always doing something with one of those groups.”
Wells was active in organizations in Atlanta and Los Angeles, where she often traveled for business. She held leadership roles in many of them, including the Atlanta and state chapters of the Business and Professional Women organization. She also helped others who needed assistance setting up their own businesses.
When she wasn’t working or volunteering, Wells enjoyed dancing, especially ballroom-style. She took classes and competed in several events. But she spent the bulk of her time working with others in civic and business matters, her daughter said.
“It made her really feel good to help other people,” Humphries said. “She enjoyed helping others become successful.”
In addition to her daughter and son, she is survived by her sister, Margaret A. Ward of O’Brien; a brother, Benjamin A. Lee of Freeport, Ill.; nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
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