Louisa Lancaster Smith, who always went by the name “Lissa,” was born on September 25, 1932, to a Quaker family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father, James Stewart Smith, and mother, Frances Caroline Heacock, were members of Goose Creek Meeting in Lincoln, Virginia, where Lissa spent most of her early years before going to Westtown, a Friends boarding school near Philadelphia, for high school. Lissa attended Connecticut College for Women, where she majored in government. After college she worked in a law firm in Washington, DC, where she met Robert (Bob) Wells, a law student who had grown up in Detroit, Michigan.
Lissa and Bob married under the care of Goose Creek Meeting on June 25, 1955. They moved west, in what Lissa always called a leap of faith, in 1958. They were already on their way to Seattle when Bob learned he had a job as a lawyer waiting for him. Lissa and Bob were the parents of three children: James Stewart Wells, born in Washington DC, and Anne Lancaster Wells and Mark Carter Wells, both born in Seattle. Anne died on December 20, 2010.
Lissa and Bob were avid readers, world travelers, bridge players, and gardeners. They worked together to make their home on Mercer Island into a beautiful place, with much loving care going into their home and garden. Lissa was very active in the League of Women Voters and Eastside Friends Meeting. She contributed to the Meeting in many ways over the years, caring for both the property and the people through her service on the Operations and Ministry and Counsel committees.
As Bob became more frail, the Wellses moved to the Aljoya retirement community on Mercer Island. Bob died there on January 8, 2021. Lissa lived on until May 13, 2023. They are survived by their sons Stewart and Mark, Lissa’s sisters Henrietta and Caroline, and three nephews.
A memorial meeting is planned at Eastside Friends Meeting on 8/6/2023, at 12 noon.