Wells Golden Willie returned to his Heavenly Father on October 29, 2014 due to complications of diabetes and Alzheimer’s. He was born December 28, 1932 in Malad City, Idaho to Arthur Golden and Selina Fern Atkinson Willie. He was raised in Holbrook, Idaho until he started school, when his family moved to Malad where his father built a home. He attended school in Malad until his graduation in 1951. The family spent the summers working the family farm in Holbrook.

He attended BYU after graduation until he came home to help on the farm and was immediately drafted into the Army. He served in Korea and upon his honorable release served an LDS mission in the Southwest Indian Mission. He loved the people he served. Upon returning from his mission, he again attended BYU.

On a weekend at home he met Marsha Lee Peck in Sunday School class. He immediately asked her on a date. They were married on August 1, 1958 in the Logan LDS Temple. They moved to the family farm where he had also purchased his uncle’s farm. While on the farm they were blessed with six children.

Wells was an accomplished artist. His specialty was painting landscapes. He shared his paintings with family and friends. He also played piano and had a beautiful bass singing voice. He and Marsha along with Don and Carol Eliason entered quartet festivals and won many competitions. This quartet sung at many programs and funerals for 33 years.

Wells was called to serve as first counselor in the bishopric of the Holbrook Ward a year after his marriage. He served for 9 years and then became bishop for 7 more years.

Wells left the family farm in 1991 and moved to Thatcher, Utah. He was employed at Thiokol until his retirement in 2005. While in Thatcher he and Marsha were called to serve as ordinance workers in the Logan Temple. They took a brief sabbatical to serve a mission at Sixth Crossing in Wyoming where the Willie Handcart Company was rescued. This meant a lot to him because it was his great grandfather, James G. Willie who led the company. He learned to make small handcarts which he gave to people who had ancestors in the Handcart Company.

In 2011 they moved to Avon, Utah and continued to serve in the temple until his health began to fail.

He is survived by his wife Marsha, his children Curtis, Brenda (Eric) Taylor, Bonnie (Scott) Peterson, Dennis (Megan), Marlo (Stephen) Bailey, and Chandler, and 10 grandchildren, his sisters, Marlene (Dan) Villegas, and Lorna (Roger) Hill. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Lynda (Lynn) Collings, and a grandson Corey.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, November 4 at 12 noon in the Paradise South ward building, 155 East 9400 South, Paradise, Utah. Friends may visit with the family Monday evening at the Paradise South building from 6-8:00 p.m. and again Tuesday morning from 10-11:30 a.m. Burial will be at the Malad City, Idaho Cemetery at 3:30.