Max Michael Wells, M.D. passed away on July 25, 2022, in Austin, TX at the age of 71 after a valiant fight against Parkinson’s Disease. He was a devoted husband and loving father and is already greatly missed.
Max was born December 6, 1950, in Winfield, KS, the fourth child of Dr. Max Welton and Mary Eloise (Johnson) Wells. His early schooling was in Winfield, KS, where he graduated valedictorian from Winfield High School in 1968. He then went on to earn his B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Kansas in 1971, his M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1973, and M.D. from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1976 followed by Residency in Pathology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Following a Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, his medical career then started at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, KS, in 1980. He practiced medicine as a surgical pathologist for 22 years with the last 14 years at Clinical Pathology Laboratories in Austin, TX.
While at KU, Max met his beloved sweetheart, Gayle Kathryn Hahn of Topeka, KS. They married on August 21, 1971, and together raised a busy family of two daughters and one son.
As a teenager, Max’s activities varied from earning a letter in tennis to dominating on his debate team. A perennial mathematician, Max continued even into his retirement to read complex analysis textbooks and to work on solving in-depth mathematics problems. He was an avid fan of Star Trek, James Bond, Star Wars, and Shrek. He loved to fish for salmon in Alaska, play board games and billiards, exercise, attend movies, travel, grill, and especially delighted in cuddling with his grandchildren. He cherished celebrating holidays, birthdays and other milestones with his family. Max was known for being charismatic and competitive; loving, strong, and devoted; grateful and thoughtful; intelligent and scholarly; as well as sociable, playful, fun-loving, and witty with a great sense of humor.
Max was preceded in death by both of his parents, Max and Mary. He is survived by his wife Gayle, daughter Kathryn Wells George, M.D. and her children Zander, Hayes, and Harper, son Michael Benjamin Wells, M.D., and daughter Mary Elizabeth Wells (Jaime Ospina) and their children, Nicolas, Abigail, and Jacob, brother Bruce Wells, M.D. (Billie), sister Jody Keller (Warren), and sister Sharon Cranston (Steve, M.D.), and cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A visitation for Max will take place on Thursday, August 4, 2022, from 6-8 p.m. at Weed Corley Fish Funeral Home, 5416 Parkcrest Dr, Austin, TX 78731. Funeral services will be on Friday, August 5, 2022, at 1 p.m. at Weed Corley Fish Funeral Home, 5416 Parkcrest Dr, Austin, TX 78731 followed by a mausoleum entombment at Cook-Walden Forest Oaks Memorial Park, 6300 West William Cannon Dr, Austin, TX 78749. If desired, donations in Max’s honor may be made to Power for Parkinson’s, 5555 N. Lamar Suite L121, Austin, TX 78751.
Please visit https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/austin-tx/max-wells-md-10860736 to sign the online guestbook and share fond memories and photos.
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