Dawn B. Wells

Dawn was born (and raised) in Pine Grove Mills Pennsylvania on January 18, 1932. She was the daughter of George and Mae Burwell and siblings Mary "Sis" Cardarelli, George Burwell Jr and Carol Zeigler. After high school she worked at Penn State University as a secretary until she met her future husband, Air Force Captain William D. Wells (Bill). Here is what he wrote about meeting Dawn: "One day I got a call from a crazy lady (crazy funny). She needed a date for her sister who was coming to help care for her newborn. We talked for 45 minutes - she was so interesting. Even though I had a perfect excuse - performing Officer of the Day (OD) duty. The OD takes care of minor details. When I knocked on the door, the young lady that came to the door really impressed me. Surely it must be the wife. It wasn't! It was Dawn Burwell from Pine Grove Mills, PA. We dated all but one day during the rest of her visit. Also visited PA as often as I could. In 6 months, we were married (10-24-53) and that is saying a lot for 2 people that didn't make hasty decisions. I refer to Dawn as the sunshine of my life. Both then and now we both consider our union made in heaven". Being an Air Force spouse was something she enjoyed (except for the occasional separations) and won several spouse of the year awards. Dawn loved her family very much and always made time to support them. Dawn always belonged to her Church in Pine Grove Mills but she and Bill always attended the local church wherever they were stationed. She was also proud that she never had a drop of alcohol her entire life. Dawn and "Bill" had one son Mitchell who was born in April of 1957 while they were stationed in Mobile, Alabama. Dawn and Bill were stationed in several locations while he was serving in the Air Force. Some of these include: Azores (Portuguese Island), Mount Holly NJ, State College PA, Frankfurt Germany, Sacramento CA, Orlando FL, Homestead FL. Dawn and Bill purchased a home close to Orlando FL in 1971 and after Bill retired in 1975 they spent their entire retirement living in that home and in fact both of them passed away there (Bill in August of 2012). Dawn and Bill were active in helping with their grand kids as they were growing up. Dawn was also active in the red cross volunteering many hours to the cause. God bless you Dawn! We will join you in heaven soon enough!