Lola Finn

Our dear mother, Lola Joan Finn (formerly Lola Wells), passed away peacefully Sunday, February 19, 2023 following an extended illness. She was 91 years old. Lola had a smile that brightened the lives of those she knew. She was an educator. She loved teaching, she loved children and she loved and supported her teachers. She truly left her legacy to hundreds of Clarke County children, teachers and friends during her years as a teacher first and then as school principal before she retired in 1994.

Lola was born June 20, 1931 in Carthage, Missouri to Byron and Mildred Moore. She grew up in Osceola, Arkansas prior to attending Memphis State College in Memphis, TN. It was there she met Reese Wells, a Memphis native, and married him in 1950. Lola jumped into teaching while the couple lived in Carthage, Missouri. She taught 1st to 6th grade children in a one-room schoolhouse and was hooked.

In 1967, they moved to Athens. Lola’s education career continued and in 1969, she began teaching 5th graders at Oglethorpe Elementary School under the tutelage of principal Estelle Farmer. Mrs. Farmer served as a guide and mentor to Lola until 1974 when Lola was appointed principal of Gaines Elementary School. Between 1980 until she retired in 1994, she served as principal at Barrow and the newly-built Whit Davis Elementary schools .

Once “retired”, Lola mentored and served as advisor for student teachers rising out of the University’s College of Education teacher’s programs. She fulfilled her dream of traveling around the world to destinations such as China, Russia, Australia, Egypt and Europe with friends or her husband, Robert Finn. She loved to entertain and to be entertained. She loved to play Bridge, go to the theatre, shopping, reading, and always enjoyed spending time with her close friends. She and four former Athens school principals often travelled together. They referred to themselves as the PrinciPALS , creating havoc and fun wherever they went. She loved many, and she was loved in return.

She is survived by her three sons, Byron Wells, Larry Donroe-Wells (Vincent), and Glenn Wells (Sheryl), daughter Janice Culp (Dave), her sister Helen Marks, three grandchildren she adored, Reese Wells, Noelle Wells-Sexton (Joel) and Connor Donroe-Wells, and a number of nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of her life will be held at 3:00 pm on Friday, February 24, 2023, at Floral Hills Funeral Home & Memory Gardens, 3150 Lawrenceville Hwy, Tucker, GA 30084.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/tucker-ga/lola-finn-11165726

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.floralhillsfuneral.com for the Finn family.