Patricia Wilkins-Wells

Patricia Wilkins-Wells, of Fort Collins, passed away recently. She was the loving wife of John Wilkins-Wells and mother of Katie Wilkins-Wells. Patricia was born in Denver, Colorado on February 28, 1947, and graduated from Fort Collins High School. She is survived by her brother Scott Wells of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and her sister Judy Guber and brother-in-law Michael Guber of Greeley, Colorado, their children Michelle and Jason, as well as her sisterGÇÖs husbandGÇÖs parents Jim and Jeanne Griffin, also of Greeley. Other beloved members of her family include her niece Shauna Golembiewski and her husband Eric of Palo Alto, California, and her nephew Lang Smith of Denver, both children of her deceased sister Jeanne Smith and brother-in-law Dowell Caselli-Smith, as well as his current wife, Rebecca and her children Macaela and Briana. Other relatives include her mother-in-law Eileen DuVries, formerly of Hayward, California, now residing in Fort Collins with her son. The Wells family has long time connections to Fort Collins, her deceased father O. Rex Wells being a World War II veteran of New Guinea and long time Fort Collins attorney, and her deceased mother Dorothy Wells, a former teacher in home economics at Colorado State University and founding member of the Poudre Landmarks FoundationGÇÖs Avery House program. Both parents were also founding members of the Fort Collins Country Club. Her grandfather, Roy M. Green was president of Colorado State University from 1940 to 1948. She was a full time lecturer in sociology at the University of Northern Colorado, teaching courses in minority studies, gender issues, family studies, the community, and social research methods. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a bachelor and masterGÇÖs degree in Anthropology, and then from Colorado State University with a doctorate in Sociology. She conducted field research for her dissertation in Egypt and Sri Lanka during the 1980s, then went on to participate in a U.S. Agency for International Development institutional development consultancy in the northern dry zone of Sri Lanka. Following her return to the U.S., she became a mother and continued working as a freelance community development worker. She then took appointment at the University of Northern Colorado, first as a part-time instructor, then as a full time lecturer in sociology. She also taught a distance learning course in rural sociology for many years through Colorado State UniversityGÇÖs Division of Continuing Education. She participated in many community development activities over the years, including the Grey Panthers in Denver, and surveys and studies with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Brush, Limon, Lamar, the Larimer County Department of Human Development, and more recently with Greeley-Evans School District 6. At the time of her death, she was preparing a manuscript with a close journalist friend on issues surrounding student preparedness and adaptation to college living. Submission of this manuscript for publication is pending but anticipated. A memorial service will be held at the Unitarian Foothills Church in Fort Collins, 1815 Yorktown Ave, at 11:00 am, Saturday, February 3, 2007. Memorial contributions may be made to the Poudre Landmarks FoundationGÇÖs Avery House program, in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel. Friends may send the family condolences at bohlenderfuneralchapel.com.