Former Mississippi Valley State University administrator Donald R. Wells was remembered today for his support of Valley and his interest in service.
Mr. Wells, 76, died July 15 in Greenwood. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. Visitation will be from noon to 6 p.m. Friday at Century Funeral Home.
Mr. Wells was director of student activities at MVSU, where he retired after 25 years. Prior to that, he ran the bowling alley adjacent to the student union at Valley.
“Valley has lost a true friend, and the community has as well,” said Dr. Valmadge Towner, who will officiate at the memorial service. Towner is president of Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale and pastor of Friendship.
Mr. Wells was known around the community for helping to provide scholarships to any local student who wanted to attend MVSU.
“He was very benevolent and unselfish when it came to using his own personal resources to help any student at Friendship who aspired to go to Valley,” Towner said. “Not only would he use his own personal finances; he was outspoken in asking the church to do the same thing.”
In 2015, Mr. Wells was recognized as an Unsung Hero by the Progressive Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi. Towner said he was active in the state convention and expanded his platform there for helping students going to college.
“He came time and time again to the aid of students, the church and the community,” said Towner.
Itta Bena Mayor Thelma Collins said Mr. Wells was a very visible and active member of that community, making videos of school activities and church activities and then transposing them to tape for archival purposes.
“Even at the point where he had health problems and was getting around in a motorized chair, he didn’t let that stop him,” Collins said. “He was very community-minded and would go into the Leflore County Schools here in Itta Bena whenever he was needed.”
Willie Young, Valley’s director of alumni affairs, fondly remembered his time as a student when Mr. Wells managed the bowling alley.
“Just two or three months ago, two fellow classmates and I ran into Wells, his wife and brother at a restaurant in Jackson,” Young said. With him were former Greenwood High School principal Percy Powell and retired IRS officer Jerry Porter, all Valley alumni.
“We were teasing him about how we tore up the bowling alley,” he said. The bowling alley is currently not in working order.
“It was delightful to have a chance to sit and talk with someone we’d known and remembered so well but hadn’t seen in a very long time,” Young said.
Mr. Wells was a life member of the national association of MVSU alumni and was also active in the local chapter.
He was born in Natchez and attended Piney Woods Junior College before graduating with a bachelor’s degree from MVSU in 1967. At Friendship, he served as chairman of the Deacon Board and was a lay member of the church’s Board of Trustees.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, cycling, bowling, photography and videography.
He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Velma Carter Wells, as well as his brother, two sons and six grandchildren.
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
