Virgil Lee Ray Wells (1960)
MCDANIEL, STANTURF, WELLS
Posted By: Mary Welty Hart (email)
Date: 7/4/2006 at 19:09:41
The Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, July 20, 1960MR. & MRS. LEE WELLS Killed in Head-On Collision Near Patterson
Madison county's 1960 highway death toll took a sharp increase late last Wednesday night on the highway 92 curve at the east edge of Patterson.
Killed instantly in the two-car crash were Mr. and Mrs. Lee Wells, both 21, former Winterset residents who had recently moved to Des Moines.
Driver of the other car was Eugene Croft, age 23, of Winterset, who was taken to Madison County Memorial hospital here. Croft suffered head and knee lacerations, shock and bruises. He was released from the hospital Sunday.
Investigating officers report that the near head-on collision occurred just east of the Salisbury station in Patterson, at approximately 12:50 a.m. The Wells car, a 1957 Oldsmobile, was proceeding east.
The car driven by Croft, a 1954 Ford registered to Marian Louise Hood of Winterset, was traveling west returning to Winterset from Des Moines. It is reported that Croft had exchanged cars with Gary Hood of this community, and had gone to Des Moines Wednesday evening to see about enlisting in a Naval Reserve training program.
A charge of failure to yield one-half of traveled portion of the highway was filed Monday in Justice court against Croft.
Mr. and Mrs. Wells were returning to their home in Des Moines after visiting friends here. Mr. Wells, along with Bill Hines and Fred Neisemier of Winterset, had attended the horse sale at Orient Wednesday evening. Mrs. Wells spent the evening with Mrs. Hines at the Hines home at Pitzer.
Mr. and Mrs. Wells were married last Nov. 29 at Princeton, Missouri, where they both graduated from high school in 1957. Mr. Wells was employed at the North Side Barber shop in Winterset from Oct. 1958 to Jan. 1960.
The largest funeral in the history of Princeton was conducted Sunday afternoon for the young couple. More than 1000 persons attended the joint services, held in the Princeton high school gymnasium.
In this same gymnasium, in 1956, the couple was crowned king and queen of the high school homecoming.
Mrs. Wells was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Al McDaniel of Princeton. Mr. Wells is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Wells, farmers near Princeton; a sister, Mrs. Bill Stanturf of Humphreys, Mo., and two brothers, Dennis of Davenport and Dan of Princeton.
________________________Coordinator's note: Full name taken from gravestone.
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Madison Obituaries maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
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