Shannon Wells
“When she closed the door you don’t enter it until she opens it back up because her students are her priority. Magic is happening,” 3rd grade teacher Lorie Campbell said of her fellow teacher Shannon Wells. The magic happening behind those doors was math, English, and social studies. Whatever subject it was you could be sure that Shannon’s students were learning. No matter her age she had a passion and dedication for learning that radiated from her.
Shannon was born in Salem, Indiana on November 26, 1965 to William and Alvnell (Gary) Wells. Shannon graduated from Borden High School and then attended Indiana University. At IU she earned multiple degrees, including her master’s in teaching. Shannon taught at Bradie Shrum Elementary in the 3rd grade for many years. Shannon and her husband David were married for 31 years. They had three sons, Mark, David and Daniel. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Sara Renee.
Teaching wasn’t Shannon’s only passion in life. She was passionate about Christ and attended the First Christian Church of Borden. She loved to travel, watch the sunset and playing cards, specifically Spades.
The Shannon Wells Field Trip fund was started by the 3rd grade teachers at Bradie Shrum. Her fellow teachers knew they wanted to honor her and the passion she had for her students. It seemed only fitting to set up the fund to support one of her favorite things- field trips. Shannon saw field trips as an opportunity for her students to learn. Actually not just an opportunity for her students but herself too. “She liked learning with the kids,” 3rd grade teacher Emily Johnson said. The money from the fund will help pay for kids who can’t afford to go on field trips. “By creating the fund she can continue even with her passing to take the kids on field trips. She’s still teaching,” said 3rd grade teacher Leslie Leis.
Shannon passed away on May 27, 2021 after battling a long illness. She was determined to finish out the school year because she did not want to let her students down. She was very weak her last few weeks. Her fellow teachers would meet her at the back door and help her into her office chair and then wheel her down to her classroom, because she was too weak to walk the entire hallway. Her love for her students, her family and her God never wavered.
Shannon’s love for learning, her students, and field trips will last forever and her memory will live on through every field trip a student gets to go on due to this fund.
