Obituary

PENDLETON — Pete Wells, a longtime Pendleton city attorney and municipal judge, died on Friday, Dec. 31. He was 78.

His wife of more than 52 years, ElRae Wells, said he died from complications from internal head injuries he received last spring. A hemophiliac, ElRae said Wells wasn’t expected to live past 21.

ElRae and Wells grew up attending the same church together in Portland, and after the couple got married and Wells graduated from law school, the couple moved to Pendleton in 1977 to take a job at the Corey, Byler and Rew law firm. Wells held a number of positions over his years in Pendleton but one of his most prominent was city attorney, a role he filled from 1992 to 2011.

Former Pendleton Mayor Phillip Houk remembered Wells as a studious and thorough legal counsel who made sure the city stayed in compliance with the law.

“His office was just not too far from mine, and he was always in there,” Houk said. “Always working and trying to gather information. He was pretty good at doing research and background information.”

Wells retired as city attorney in 2011 but was immediately appointed to fill the vacant role of judge of the Pendleton Municipal Court.

“I love municipal law and I love working with the city of Pendleton,” he said at the time. “I hope I can do a good job doing it.”

Wells left the city’s employ for good in 2013, but continued to stay active in the community as a volunteer. A survivor of both prostate cancer and squamous cell carcinoma, Wells was a longtime volunteer at the Pendleton Relay for Life and also donated his time to Pendleton SMART, a children’s reading program. And when the Children’s Museum of Eastern Oregon needed a Santa Claus for an event, Wells donned a red suit to match his already considerable white beard.

He also dabbled in local politics, running as the Democratic nominee for state House District 58. Running as a Democrat in conservative Northeastern Oregon already is an uphill battle, but Wells only jumped into the race after incumbent Republican Rep. Bob Jenson faced a spirited challenge from his right in his own primary. Jenson ended up hanging in the primary, but Wells stayed in the race and Jenson went on to safely win reelection.

Wells is survived by his wife in addition to four children and five grandchildren. While the Wellses may have moved to Pendleton for work, they stayed in Pendleton and made a family because of what the community had to offer.

ElRae used the Round-Up as an example, saying local volunteers put their differences aside each year to put on the world-class rodeo.

“Overall, Pendleton is a caring community,” she said. “If we could bottle up what Pendleton has, particularly now, and spread it to the country, our whole country would be a whole lot better.”

She turned to an old quote from actor Jimmy Stewart about how she wanted Wells to be remembered: “As someone who believed in hard work, love of country, love of family and love of community.”

ElRae would amend Stewart’s statement to include “love of God” when talking about Wells, but otherwise, the best summary of Wells’ life already had been said.