Claude Wells
Claude Wells grew up in rural south east Missouri during the Great Depression. He lived with his paternal grandparents while his father travelled with a road construction job. He has memories of walking a country lane to church with his grandmother as a very young child. After World War II his parents divorced and he lived with his maternal grandmother while finishing high school.
Claude’s biggest desire for adulthood was to have a family of his own. He met Mary Deckard of Northview and they married in 1951. Together they raised a large family until her death from cancer in 1990. Claude accepted Jesus as his savior before going overseas with the military in the early 1950’s. He was baptized in 1975, after the death of his father. Claude married Martha Gulley a year later in 1991 and added her two sons to his family.
Due to his life experiences, Claude has a heart for the homeless, children and families. He considers grandparents God’s gift to children. He has served as outreach director, Sunday school director, deacon and elder since 1975.