Joshua W. Wells, 77, passed away on March 14, 2026, at his cabin in Mimbres, New Mexico, as the result of devastating injuries to his hip, spine, and lungs from a fall on January 26, 2026.
He leaves behind his grieving "Family of Friends," as well as former students from around the world and country. He is remembered by his students and colleagues at Bayard Elementary as a one-of-a-kind teacher who changed many lives with his energy, passion, and love. He was awarded "Teacher of the Year" from schools in Michigan, New Mexico, China, and Kazakhstan.
Joshua was born on May 11, 1948. He pursued higher education in science and educational leadership in Maine, Illinois, and Michigan, earning five degrees. He returned to New Mexico to earn his doctorate in Educational Management, Curriculum Design and Development from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Upon retirement, he switched course to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, which he completed in 2020.
At IAIA, he was required to present a culminating project. Joshua set out on what would become his artistic "oeuvre": a collection of assemblages and sculptures telling the story of The Great Migration, when emancipated Black Americans moved north and west to find a better life for their families. These works are gut-wrenching, poignant visual representations of the human struggle. He has shown several of these works in Silver City exhibitions through the Silver City Art Association and the Grant County Art Guild since 2022.
In February 2027, during Black History Month, he was scheduled to have a joint exhibition with Deborah Snider at Light Art Space in Silver City. Director Karen Hymer hopes that this exhibition can still take place, pending the resolution of Joshua's estate and availability of his artwork.
Joshua was an avid world traveler. In just the past four years, he went to Africa, Ecuador, including the Galapagos Islands and Easter Island; he followed the Silk Road in 2024 and traveled and taught in Peru for three months in 2025.
Joshua will be deeply missed by all those who knew and loved him. A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, May 11, 2026, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship located at 3845 North Swan Street, Silver City, New Mexico, from 6:00-7:30pm.
Gifts in his memory may be made to Sculpture students at the IAIA Foundation at P.O. Box 22370, Santa Fe, NM 87502-2370 or online at: https://iaia.edu/give ; or to the Grant County Art Guild at 316 North Bullard Street, Silver City, NM.
No names of his family members are mentioned because they have not yet been located. If you have contact information for any of his family, please share it with Luis Terrazas, Jr., at Terrazas Funeral Chapel, 575.537.0777.
