Audrey Jennifer Wells
September 19, 1931, to December 1, 2022

Audrey Wells passed away peacefully at the age of 91 with her family by her side. As she desired, she was able to stay in her home in Myrtletown thanks to her loving family, caregivers, and the support of Hospice.

Audrey was born September 19, 1931, to Audley Maurer and Jennie Sandkulla Maurer. She was the younger sister to John (Marian) and Alan (Betty) Maurer. A lifetime resident of Humboldt County, Audrey attended Eureka City Schools, graduating from Eureka Senior High School.

She attended Humboldt State University while working for her father’s construction company, Fred J. Maurer & Sons, as a bookkeeper. It was during this time that Audrey met Carleton (Corky) Wells, and they married in 1951. They lived a life dedicated to their family, having three children Lindsay, David, and Tracey. There were frequent camping trips to Richardson’s Grove and to the Larson’s cabin in Willow Creek in the summers, but also bigger adventures such as to San Francisco, Tahoe and Disneyland. While Corky loved social outings such as Friday nights at the Elks Club, Audrey was just as happy curling up on the couch at home and reading a good book. (She recommends the Gamache series of books by Louise Penny and the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child.) Audrey and Corky had been married 42 years when he prematurely passed away in 1993. Audrey spent the next 29 years supporting her family in ways big and small. The family home was the center of annual Christmas, Easter, July Fourth and family birthday celebrations; as well as hosting periodic events such as weddings, baby showers, and Super Bowl parties. While she had several types of fruit trees, she was best known for her lemon tree, which produced enough fruit for the entire neighborhood to stop by and pick when needed.

Audrey worked in the home as a bookkeeper when her children were young, waiting until all were asleep to pull out the receipts, paperwork and the clackety old adding machine. Later, she went to work for the Humboldt County Appraiser’s office, retiring after a lengthy and successful career. Some of her best friends came from her work world; Karen Templeton, Tiny Hershberger, and Mari Wilson among them. If your property tax bill was accurate in the 1980s and 1990s you can credit this hardworking gang.

Audrey loved all the Bay Area professional sporting teams; including the Giants and 49ers. But she saved her most passionate devotion for the Warriors, and her favorite player Steph Curry. Indeed, she had her Warriors blanket covering her on her bed at the time of her passing. Audrey is survived by son David (Kathy), daughter Lindsay (Fernando), daughter Tracey (Vince), her grandchildren Jamie (Deanna), Katy (Omid), Jessie and Christopher (Jessie), and numerous nieces and nephews and other family members.

The family would like to thank our mom’s caregivers Wendy, Brandie and Hazel for their care and dedication. We would also like to thank the exceptional staff at Hospice. Without these special people we could not have cared for Mom at home, fulfilling her one final wish.

At the time of her death, Audrey was looking forward to the birth of her first great grandchild. A celebration of life will be held when the new baby, Shyla Delara Talai, is able to join us in honoring and celebrating Audrey our mother, grandmother and friend.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Audrey Wells’ loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.