Allan Dale Wells

Allan, “Al”, Wells passed away peacefully on the evening of March 29th, surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Joanne, three sons Jeffrey, Daniel and David, daughter-in-law Shannon, granddaughter Alex, sisters Anne Reynoldson and Marlene Peters, and brother Mark Durfee, as well as his Sky Terrier, Tucker.

Allan was born in Seattle, and grew up on Manitou Beach on Bainbridge Island, graduating from Bainbridge High School class of 1960 (the "Untouchables"), as an honor student. He attended the University of Washington, earning dual Bachelor of Science Degrees in Electrical Engineering and Industrial Engineering in 1965. Al was a member of the Air National Guard Reserves from 1967 to 1973. While serving, he earned a Master’s in Business from the UW, and began his family, marrying Joanne Marie Magill in August of 1969.

Allan worked with various companies during his tenure as a Project Manager in Electrical Engineering, including Boeing, United Power, Lord Electric, Canem Systems, Industrial Electric, and Veca, to name a few. He finished his distinguished career at Valley Electric, from where he retired in 2011. During his career, Al managed many electrical projects including the Madigan Hospital expansion at JBLM, Everett Naval Station, Renton Sewage Treatment Center, the Children's Hospital expansion, the Swedish Hospital expansion, the SeaTac South Terminal expansion, T-Mobile Park, and the Brightwater Treatment Plant. Upon his retirement from the industry, he was known as “The best project manager in the business”.

Away from work, Allan was an avid sportsman, playing tennis, basketball, soccer, pickleball, and running many local races as well as the Bay To Breakers in San Francisco several times. Al also coached youth basketball, youth soccer and was a Cub Scout Den Leader while his sons were young. Allan was a skilled boater and woodworker, building two boats by hand in his younger years. He enjoyed spending time with his family on their SeaRay for summer cruises in the San Juans and Canadian Gulf Islands, as well as boating to Husky football home games where he was a season ticket holder for over 30 years.

Before his passing, Al enjoyed his retirement years with Joanne, taking cruises and splitting time between their home in Palm Desert, CA and their custom-built timber frame cabin on Bainbridge Island, which he personally played a part in building.

Allan was a dedicated husband and father to his wife and family. During his career, he was known to work hard to get a job done right, to research every detail of the projects he managed, and he was a tireless negotiator with contractors to get the best deals. Al was strong, stable, steady, calm, respectful and fair in his interactions. He never lost his temper in the face of challenges and was very loyal to his friends and family, who had endless respect for him. Allan will be deeply missed and never forgotten.

A Celebration Of Life is planned for late June 2025, with details to follow soon.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cook Family Funeral Home of Bainbridge Island, WA