Wells

Emmett, Idaho

May 17, 1943 — June 21, 2021

Charles E. “Chuck” Wells, 78, passed away at his home in Emmett, Idaho, surrounded by his family, on June 21, 2021. He was born May 17, 1943, in Hermiston, Oregon.

Growing up in Eastern Oregon, he graduated from Ukiah High School. He went on to graduate from Clark Jr. College and the University of Oregon with a degree in parks and recreation management.

Chuck worked nearly 40 years for the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation. He finished his career as the IDPR Recreation Programs bureau chief and a titan in the motorized trails community. Idahoans and recreationists across the globe still reap the benefits of his lifework, and will continue to for many generations. He used his passion, knowledge and talents to birth Idaho’s first motorcycle, ATV and snowmobile programs. Chuck developed the most innovative off-road motor vehicle programs for recreationists across the state of Idaho. His programs for trail development, maintenance, safety, land use, and provisions for funding those programs were the first and most successful in the country. They are still implemented and coveted as models across the U.S. and internationally to this day.

He was a born leader, organizer, and excelled in his natural abilities as an athlete, avid hunter and outdoorsman. His family meant the world to him and he spent much of his time with them.

Chuck is preceded in death by parents Earl Eugene and Fay Lorraine, and brother Robert Wells. He is survived by daughters Bobbi Jo Taylor (Matt) and Jacki Lynn Briggs (Tom); grandchildren Zachary Taylor (Shiloah), Madi Jo Taylor, Emily, MJ, Maricris and Rebekah Briggs; great-granddaughter Elliana Briggs; first wife and mother of his children Alyce Wells; second wife Marybeth Wells; siblings Judith Merry, Thomas Wells (Stacey), George Wells (Carol), Barbara Cole (Steve), Wendy Evans and Suzi Bradshaw (Brad); and many extended family members.

Memorial services and reception are planned Monday July 19, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. at Vineyard Boise Church, Garden City, Idaho. Graveside service will follow at 4 p.m. at Hill City Cemetery.

For a more detailed obituary, information on services and to RSVP, go to Chuck’s obituary page at www.PotterChapel.com.