Monday, August 8, 2016

COLONEL LYNDOLL L. WELLS, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED)

Colonel Lyndoll L. Wells died Saturday, August 6, 2016 with family by her side under the care of Aspirus Care and Rehabilitation-Medford and Hope Hospice.
Lyndoll, the third child of Bonnie (Alexander) and Harry Wells, was born on 17 September 1930 in Kincaid, IL. She spent her early years in Illinois before moving with her family to Michigan. She attended kindergarten and first grade in Michigan and then settled with her family in the Town of Hammel in Medford, WI. She attended Meadowbrook School and Medford High School. In 1946, her family moved to West Plains, MO where Lyndoll finished her last two years of high school. After high school, Lyndoll attended the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing, Memphis, Tennessee and became a registered nurse in 1951.
Always interested in flying, Lyndoll joined the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps in 1952. During her service in the Air Force she received her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from the University of WI, Madison and her Master's Degree in Nursing Service Administration from the University of MN. In the Air Force she attended the Air Force Flight Nurse Course and served as an aeromedical flight nurse from 1959 to 1961. While in the Air Force, Lyndoll had assignments in Cheyenne, WY; Cambridge, England; Clovis, NM; Wrightstown, NJ and Montgomery, AL. In 1966, Lyndoll resigned from the Air Force and worked in the private sector for a year. In 1967 she joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and was assigned to Fort Gordon, GA where she was an instructor in the military equivalent of a Licensed Practical Nurse school. In 1971 she was assigned to the U.S. Army Surgeon General’s Office. In this assignment she was the first nurse ever assigned to the team responsible for planning and designing U.S. Army hospitals and clinics.
Lyndoll retired from the Army in 1975 and started her own business as a consultant in hospital planning and design. For nine years she worked with the Nemours Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE supporting the construction of a modern replacement children’s hospital.
Lyndoll was an avid historian and loved to read about the leaders of the United States and explore the estates of the Revolutionary War leaders and the Civil War battlefields. She was also a woman always on the go. During her life she visited all 50 states and all seven continents. She saw world capitals, walked with penguins, climbed high in the Andes and explored the depths of canyons.
Lyndoll is survived by her nephews and nieces: Dale of Allen, TX; Bruce and his wife Sharon (Emmerich) of Mount Vernon, IL; Dawn of Medford, WI; Pamela and her husband Bruce Emmerich of Phillips, WI; David and his wife Mary (Kretschmer) of Melissa, TX; Kevin and his wife Leza (Malstrom) of Medford, WI; Susan and her husband Joseph Belzer of St. Louis Park, MN; Deirdre of Marshfield, WI; Ethan (deceased) and his wife, Tina (Boelk) of Medford, WI; James and significant other Sandi Kuenne of Medford, WI; and Melody and her husband Tim Mueller of Mosinee, WI; 28 grandnieces and nephews and 26 great grandnieces and nephews.
Lyndoll was preceded in death by her parents, Harry Wells and Bonnie (Alexander) Wells; brothers, Delbert and James; and a nephew, Ethan John.
Visitation will be held Thursday, August 11, 2015 at Hemer Funeral Home, Medford Chapel, from 4:00 – 5:00 PM. A memorial service will follow at 5:00 PM with Pastor Lowell Bolstad officiating.
Full Military Honors will follow the Memorial Service.
Honorary pallbearers are the members of the Military Honors Team. Active pallbearers will be members of her family.
A private burial service will be held at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Lyndoll’s name to Hope Hospice, Medford or Aspirus Medford Hospital Foundation.
Hemer Funeral Service has been entrusted with arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.hemerfuneralservice.com.