Vance Wells Jr.

It is with heavy hearts that the family of Vance Wells, Jr. shares his passing. Vance peacefully completed his earthly journey on September 10, 2025 at the age of 95 after a courageous battle with dementia.
He was a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, beloved teacher, coach, and community member. Known affectionately as Vance, Dad, Grampa, Papa, Advance, and even "Weird Old Man". He leaves behind a legacy of hard work, a love of nature, gardening, athletics, and apple pie and ice cream. He also had a profound impact on generations of students.
Born on December 7, 1929, to Vance M. Wells Sr. and Bernice Reed Wells, Vance grew up in Wilton, Maine. They were a close family with eight siblings. His love of athletics started early; he was always involved in sports. Throughout his life, he was dedicated to helping his parents at their canning factory, W.S. Wells & Sons. He spent many hours working at the factory with his entire family, which continued when the business was run by his brother Butch (Adrian) and finally his nephew Adrian. Vance focused his education on agriculture and conservation at Morrisville, Cornell, Syracuse and UMO.Vance enlisted in the Army to serve in the Korean Conflict. He served until the end of that conflict in the summer of 1954. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal. Shortly after his discharge he married his sweetheart, Ree Mason in August 1954. They were married for 71 years and had three children.
Vance was a true patriarch, and his family was at the center of his life. He was quick to laugh, quick to lend a helping hand, or do some major cheering at athletic events. Vance was well known throughout his children's and grandchildren's childhoods for his sense of fun. This could be making funny faces, endlessly throwing kids over his shoulders in the water, rolling down hills at 90 years old, or having ice cream for dinner.
Vance is predeceased by his father Vance Sr., mother Bernice, son Alan, his sisters and brothers Judy, Joan, Robert, Connie, Arthur, Adrian and Shirley. He is survived by his wife Ree, brother Dean, son Craig, daughter-in-law Mary (who makes the best apple pie), and daughter Heidi. Vance is also survived by his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was a doting grandfather to Nicole Hart, Morgan Tolin, Daniel Hart, Hannah Wells, and Jenna Uhll. He also loved his grandchildren's spouses, Erik Morrison, Tim Tolin, and Jack Uhll. He was a proud great-grandfather to Parker Tolin, Silas Hart Morrison, Rowan Hart Morrison, and Reed Hart Morrison. He was looking forward to meeting his soon to be born great grandsons, Easton Tolin and Knox Uhll.
Over the years, he spent many hours with his grandchildren. He was game for anything from, letting his grand-daughters style his hair and put on make-up,
to building a play space ship with his grandson and co-piloting it for hours, to playing golf. And ice cream was often involved!
A born teacher and a lifelong learner, Vance dedicated his career to educating others. He began his teaching journey at Jay High School. He went on to spend decades as a beloved biology (Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Aquatic Biology) professor at the University of Maine Farmington. He was often stopped by former students who shared how much his classes and mentorship meant to them.
He was a passionate advocate for the environment serving on committees into his 80s. He served on the board for the Franklin County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Maine Resource Conservation & Development Council. When not working on a committee you might find him cooking up plans for a community garden, concocting an idea to make our postal system more efficient, or engineering a way to use sugar beets to create ethanol.
Beyond his professional life, Vance was a pillar of his community. He was a church goer, a dedicated member of his local school board, a coach, and a candidate for the House of Representatives. He was also a dedicated sports fan who spent countless hours cheering on his children and grandchildren from the sidelines. Often very loudly! His support was not limited to athletics. He loved supporting his granddaughters' pursuits in ballet and the arts.
Vance had boundless energy! He was an avid outdoorsman and loved golfing, hunting, fishing and canoeing. He and Craig hiked Mount Katahdin several times. They also paddled in the Kenduskeag River Canoe Race, as well as the 100-mile Allagash Wilderness Waterway.
One of Vance's proudest memories was being a member of the 1948 Wilton Logger baseball team, with his best friend Herbie Austin. They traveled to Battle Creek, MI to compete in the Amateur Baseball World Series.
Vance M. Wells Jr. will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. His spirit will live on in the hearts of his family, his friends, and the minds of his students.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the First Congregational Church Camden on Monday, October 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM with a reception following at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association (https://www.alz.org/).
Have a piece of apple pie and scoop of ice cream and think of Vance with a smile.2d:{"dateTime"