Terry Taylor Wells, 64, of Huntsville, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010, in Conroe. Terry was born March 10, 1945, to William O. and Frances Dunlop Taylor of Houston. She is survived by her beloved son, James Taylor Wells, daughter-in-law Josefina and granddaughter Angela Maria; brother, Dick Taylor of Houston and nephew Alan Taylor of Charlottesville, Va.; former husband and special friend, James M. Wells of Huntsville, his son David and wife Vickie Wells of Dallas and their children Will, Sheldon and Annie. She was predeceased by her parents.
In addition to her family, Terry’s enduring interests were her friends and community, her church and music. She attended public schools in Houston and college at the University of Texas at Austin, earning a degree in Psychology in 1967. Terry was musically gifted with an alto voice and a love of harmonizing and she contributed to musical settings throughout life. At Lamar High School she sang with the school choir and a trio of female vocalists, and in college with the Longhorn Singers. The latter experience was especially dear to her. She was also a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority at college. At her church she formed treasured friendships while volunteering in numerous capacities, among them the hand bell choir and ringing the chimes for Sunday services. She also recently participated in a local production of Handel’s Messiah, and this experience she would describe as “unforgettable and glorious.” Terry took to rock and roll with a vengeance in the 1950s. She loved the music of Sam Cook and Elvis and later expanded her interests and appreciation to country and western, folk, and rhythm and blues. In her community Terry served as President of the Huntsville Lakers Swim Team, the Hospital Auxiliary, the Stewart Elementary Parent-Teachers’ Association, she was a member of the Huntsville Study Club and of her neighborhood’s welcoming committee for new residents. She was known for her dinner parties where with a typical touch of impishness she would serve guests from a table set with ornate sterling eating utensils alongside paper plates, paper bowls, and paper cups.
Terry will be dearly missed by her family and many friends. She was loyal and generous, and she embraced life with intelligence, grace, diplomacy, and playfulness.
A service in honor of her life will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 6 at the First United Methodist Church, 1016 Sam Houston Avenue, in Huntsville. Rev. Scott Dornbush and Rev. Mark Pickett will be officiating. Interment will be at Mayes Addition of Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville. Memorial contributions may be made to American Bank, 1718 11th Street, Huntsville, Texas, where they will be placed in a yet to be determined college scholarship in her name.
Those wishing to leave memorial condolences for the family may do so at www.shmfh.com
