Daniel Bundy Wells, a lifelong resident of Charleston, WV, and dearly loved father and granddad, peacefully departed this earth on Tuesday, May 21, at HospiceCare of CAMC Memorial Hospital, after a long illness. He was 84.

“Danny” was well known in the Kanawha Valley and around the state as a longtime sportswriter, columnist, and sports editor at The Charleston Gazette and serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates for five terms between 2005 and 2014, representing the 30th and 36th districts. He also served as director of the Charleston Distance Run from 1989 to 2001 and co-hosted sports talk radio shows on WCHS and WBES.

He was born on March 15, 1940, and grew up on Abney Circle in South Hills. He spoke often and lovingly of his experiences attending Fernbank Elementary School near his home, Thomas Jefferson Junior High School, and Charleston High School, from which he graduated in 1958. He was a lifelong member of Saint Marks United Methodist Church in downtown Charleston.

In 1962, he graduated from West Virginia University, where he was Sports Editor of The Daily Athenaeum student newspaper. That summer, Danny joined The Charleston Gazette’s Sports Department. He met Sandy O’Shea of Huntington, who became his wife of 40 years, when she was hired at the Gazette in 1963. Danny was named Sports Editor in 1989 and remained in the department until his retirement in 2001. He enjoyed covering several Super Bowl and WVU bowl games in New Orleans and other colorful locales.

As a columnist, Danny was known for his witty, irreverent, and sometimes caustic takes on the WVU and Marshall University athletics programs, staff, and players. He also wrote many lighthearted, entertaining columns highlighting the hijinks of his South Hills neighbors, Gazette co-workers, his boating buddies at Summersville Lake, and his beloved family.

Encouraged by former longtime Gazette Publisher William E. “Ned” Chilton III, Danny gravitated to investigative sports journalism, bringing to light questionable practices and corruption in college and secondary schools’ athletic programs. In 1980, 1991, and 1993, he was chosen by his journalistic contemporaries as “West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year” through the former National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (now known as the National Sports Media Assn.) in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Danny was well-known for his dry, observant, often off-the-wall wit and youthful, fun-loving ways well into his middle and senior years. He loved listening to music, reading, boating at Summersville Lake, riding his bike with family and friends along the Greenbrier River Trail, in the Monongahela National Forest, and in Canaan Valley, whose scenery, serenity, and eclectic mix of residents and visitors he adored. Starting with the inaugural Charleston Distance Run in 1973, which he championed, Danny completed 20 of the 15-mile road races and started several more.

Danny was endlessly proud of his children and grandchildren. He found great joy in hiking, biking, experiencing live music and whitewater rafting adventures with son, Shannon, and daughter, Shea, an experienced guide on the New and Gauley rivers.

Following retirement from the Gazette in 2002, he worked at the Information Desk at the State Capitol Rotunda. The energy and camaraderie inspired him to run for office. A proud Democrat, he was first elected to the WV House of Delegates in 2005. An active and outspoken legislator, Danny championed bills aimed at enhancing environmental protections, bicycle and pedestrian safety, and expanding educational opportunities. He served on the Judiciary Committee, as chair of the Committee on Enrolled Bills and co-chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee, among other appointments.

Danny was preceded in death by his wife, Sandy; his brother, Linwood T. Wells Jr.; his mother, Virginia Bundy Wells; and his father, Linwood T. Wells Sr.

He is survived by his son, Shannon, of Pittsburgh; daughter, Shea, of Fayetteville, WV; grandchildren, Keller Stowers and Nash Mulcahy of Fayetteville; nephew, Teddy Wells of Richmond, VA; and nieces, Carrie Wallace of Huntington, Shelly Kelley of Tallahassee, FL, and Linette Wells of Roanoke, VA.

A visitation will be held from 4-6 p.m., Thursday, May 30, 2024 at Snodgrass Funeral Home, South Charleston, with a Memorial Service immediately following. A Celebration of Life for Danny will follow the service at a location to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the MPN Research Foundation, dedicated to pursuing new treatments and a cure for blood cancers known collectively as myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Memories of Danny may be shared by visiting http://snodgrassfuneral.com and selecting the obituary. Snodgrass Funeral Home, South Charleston, is handling the arrangements.