Obituary of Diana Lucille Wells

Diana Lucille Wells, age 62, died suddenly on April 25, 2017 in Santa Cruz, California. Diana was born in Tripoli, Libya on August 13, 1954 to parents Phillip and Lucille Wells. Her father was in the military and was stationed in Libya at the time. Phillip, Lucille and their 8 children moved several times as is common with military families but primarily lived in the Southern U.S. including Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Texas. Dr. Wells was a pediatrician extraordinaire. She attended medical school at University of Texas Houston and did her pediatric residency at the prestigious Texas Children's Hospital/Baylor University. She also trained as a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was at one time the assistant state epidemiologist in Florida. She married Patrick Meehan in 1990. They have two children, Owen Wells Meehan and Isabel Nicole Wells Meehan. The family lived for several years in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved to Santa Cruz about 14 years ago. Diana was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Libby, and is survived by her immediate family, her 6 remaining siblings and a large extended family. Diana was a passionate advocate for the poor, minorities, women and the LGBTQ community. She and Patrick met while working at a community health center in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas where they were both physicians. She was a devoted mother who spent most of her free time with her children teaching them to think critically and not accept the status quo. Dr. Wells enjoyed alternative music, folk art, chocolate and pop and contemporary culture. Her family will have private memorial to honor her in the near future.