Prayer Request - Louise

A number of people have asked how Charles mother, Louis, is doing, so I wanted to give everyone an update and some specific things you can pray for:

* Thanksgiving was tough - as you can imagine. Christmas is on the way. Pray for perseverance. Pray for reassurance of the reality of the life to come (when she will one day see her son again). Thank God for the strength He is giving her.

* She has no trouble getting to sleep (praise God for that), but waking to the reality of what's occurred is difficult. Pray for daily motivation.

* Her husband died in the early '80's. He was 50. His name was Charles.....Her son, Charles Kevin Wells, she's always called "Kevin". With his recent passing at 49-years-old, she's met hundreds of people who know her son only as "Charles". The names and the ages of husband and son are causing emotional confusion. Pray for clarity of mind. And please keep this information about her husband to yourself. Talking about her deceased husband with her, from so many years ago, only causes more confusion for her. Pray for peace of mind.

Memorial Service Downloads

Note: To listen to the audio clips on this page, you need Quicktime. Get it here. It's in the middle of the page, the gray area, up top - and when you get there, don't be fooled by the request for your email. Just uncheck those two little boxes, select the version you need and click "Free Download Now" (big blue button). Install it and come back here to play the audio.
When this section is completed, I'll send an announcement to everyone on the email list (see top/left of the website). I'll continue to update it every few days.

The Program

There are two PDF's for the Memorial Service Program. Click this for the outer pages and click this for the song insert. (When the color insert of Charles is available, I'll post it here.)


The Introduction
(Dwight Brewer)

The Eulogy  

(Tom Horne)

Click here to read or download the transcription. 


Musical Offering
(Cello Suite in D Minor No. 1, Prelude, J.S. Bach; performed by Susan Ung)

Tributes

(a lover of books; by Jeff Gennero)

(a Christian serving; by Don Smith)

(a piano teacher; by Elliot Lee)

Homily
(Reverend Dan Flemming)

Video Montage

(Joey Parks)




Benediction
(Reverend Dan Flemming)

Tolling of the Bells


(for leaving the service in quiet rumination)

How did Charles die?

[Updated 3 Dec 2009; crossed out items are followed by updated information]

The investigation into Charles accident is still ongoing, but it's important to know that Charles did not suffer.

Based on the police report and an interview with one of the police officers who was at the scene, the facts we know are these:

At about 5:50am on Thursday, November 12th, Charles’ red Acura veered off route 77 just outside Globe, hit an embankment a few feet from the edge of the road, and flipped over. He was wearing his seat-belt and the dual airbags deployed immediately. 

According to the police officer I spoke with Seargent Olivarez, that stretch of road is heavily traveled at that time of morning, so it was no surprise that a 911 call was made when someone saw his car flip. About five minutes later, Globe police officers arrived someone helped Charles out of his car by cutting his seat belt.

When the officers Robert Jones, Globe's Investigating Officer, arrived to the scene it was almost 6:30am. Charles had no visible signs of accident-related injuries and was alive and talking.  
Charles talked for several a few minutes with Officer Jones, repeatedly asking him to take a seat, "You're in shock, sir. You need to sit down and rest". But you know Charles....he said he was fine. [The autopsy results will be posted here the instant they are available. According to Seargent Olivarez, that will be about mid-December.

When the Emergency Medical Technicians arrived on the scene, it had been about 30 minutes since the accident. The One of the police officers again asked Charles to sit and rest. At last, Charles agreed, commenting that he didn't feel very well. He sat down. He laid onto his back. "Immediately," said Officer Jones, "His breathing became very shallow. A second later, he passed."

The EMT's tried to revive him, but without success. 

Authorities believe the accident, and his death, may have resulted from a medical condition.  The initial observation of the medical examiner is that Charles may have had Pneumonia. At the time of the accident - and for several weeks before it, according to more than a dozen 50 people I've interviewed, Charles had been fighting a terrible cold, perhaps even pneumonia - I've heard numerous first-hand reports of his paleness of skin, exessive coughing, weakness, losing weight, falling asleep during piano lessons, etc.); but, as was Charles way, he didn't want to disappoint his students and didn't complain.

However, it is important, critical even, to keep in mind that these are just educated guesses. When the autopsy report is in hand, I will confirm things.
Words do not exist to make what has happened any less tragic or any easier to understand. We all assume we'll be here until we're in our 80's, but the truth is, none of us knows when our the end will come. 

We all had the blessing of Charles in our lives. We know how much he loved us and how much he meant to us. And he knew how much he was loved as well. While we're grasping for answers to "how" and "why now", there is a welcoming comfort in learning how great the numbers are in the individuals who will carry his memory in our lives and in our hearts. May those who've never met Charles find a part of him in us.


(As more facts are learned, they will be added to this posting. Sign up for the email updates to learn the facts as soon as they are known.)

Charles Wells Memorial Fund

A fund for monetary donations has been set up for Charles. Very soon, you'll be  able to make direct deposits into the account, but for now, you may mail a check to: Louise Wells, 1805 West Claremont Street, Phoenix, AZ 85015. I'm working on a way to make credit card donations on this website. More info will be posted as it becomes available. All donations will go directly to Louise Wells, Charles' mother. 

UPDATE: Received the Memorial Service eulogy transcript from Tom Horne, two short videos of Charles in 2008, and PDF of memorial handout. Will post on Tuesday.

Updates for Friday, Nov 20

The video of the service is being compressed so that it can be streamed on the Internet. It will be available for download on this website shortly after. I'm also going to make transcriptions of the service available as well.

I'm working to get Charles' self-titled 1984 record released on CD. I'll post updates as they come in. 

Finally, thank you to everyone who introduced themselves to me at the Memorial or continue to do so in emails. It means a great deal to me. 


All the best,


Joey

"He toasted us and now it seems we're toasting him." ~ Lisa & Joey Parks