Joan Wells Gunn

Joan Wells Gunn (nee Clark)
Born Joan Althea Clark to parents Russell and Althea Clark, in Drexel Hill Pennsylvania, she earned a scholarship and attended Vassar College in New York, graduating in 1951with a BS Degree in Mathematics, with honors. She married Eugene Wells and is survived by their 4 children, Cris Thompson, Bob Wells, Joan Marie Gunn, and Russ Wells, as well as grandchildren John, Katie and Eric Jensen, and Jamie Wells. She spent most of her career in various leadership roles in service to the State of California, with both the Division of Highways (now CalTrans) and the Department of Finance, where she became the first woman in state service to achieve several different levels of management.

Family was always the highlight of her world, and her marriage to Howard Gunn expanded that, where she enthusiastically included Howard’s daughter Carol and grandchildren Jim, Maureen, and Doug. Hosting family birthday barbeques in the backyard were a constant, as well as Christmas Eve dinner, where she shared her deep faith in God by reading the story of the birth of Jesus, as well as other important Bible stories. In addition, marrying Howard introduced her
to the love of orchids. She became his partner in growing their large collection and they traveled the world together as he was invited to speak about them. After his passing she became a renowned grower in her own right, winning many awards including Best In Class and Best in Show for a number of her plants.

She was an astute manager of money, and coming from a poor background managed to save enough to eventually offer to fund mortgages for many family members, enabling many to buy their first home that otherwise might not have been possible. Over time she took pride in having helped with the purchase of 11 homes!

As she reached her 70’s, she discovered the power of weight-bearing exercise, and actively preached that everyone should lift weights. At only 5’ tall, she worked her way up to lifting a pair of 15 pound dumbbells, and shared with everyone the health benefits she enjoyed from that!

But her biggest impact on everyone she touched was her humble way of pointing out the positives in everyone and everything around them, including her wonder at the work God had done to make those things possible.

She was told last month that cancer had spread throughout her body and she might have 6-12 months to live, and her reaction was one of peacefully saying “I’ve had a great life, raised children I’m proud of, had a wonderful marriage to Howard, and traveled the world. I have no
regrets, and I’m ready to go.”

She was a source of unconditional love and an inspiration to us all. She is with the Lord now, but for those of us left behind, she is missed more than words can express.