Janet Wells, 88, a World War II veteran whose beautiful quilts honored Guilford's history and brought warmth to loved ones, died Aug. 25 at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford. Born in Chicago, daughter of Dean and Marion Hole, she grew up in Winnetka, Illinois, where she graduated from New Trier High School in 1938 then attended Connecticut College. In April 1943, she enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving as a supply officer and a personnel officer at a prisoner of war camp. She left the Army in 1945 as a first lieutenant. In October 1945 she married Richard C. Wells of Baltimore, Maryland. They had four children before divorcing in 1987.

After moving to Guilford in 1973, Janet began quilting. Her beautiful quilts were displayed around the world, donated to charities, and given to friends and family. She gave quilts to the ABC House, run by Guilford's A Better Chance program. She also created a quilt commemorating Guilford's 350th anniversary in 1989 and donated it for fundraising; she entered quilts at the Guilford Fair for many years. She traveled to Avignon, France, in 1989 as a master quilter and part of a delegation of artists from the New Haven area. In 1990, she was invited to create a 10-foot by 50-foot tapestry representation of the map of Nigeria using Nigerian fabrics that hangs on display in the Nigerian High Commission in London, England.

In addition to quilting, she had an enduring interest in politics and was active in the League of Women Voters in Scarsdale, New York, during the 1960s and early 1970s. She also volunteered annually at Guilford polls.

Janet loved gardening, sailing, classical music, Scrabble, and crossword puzzles and she competed in national crossword puzzle tournaments. She also volunteered for many years for Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, where she met Maria Ogren, who became a lifelong friend.

Though she lost her fight with cancer, Janet spent the last weeks of her life surrounded by loved ones, content in the knowledge that their love for her and for each other is limitless.

She is survived by her sister Mardean Frazer of Dover, New Hampshire; four children, Priscilla Plocki and her husband Zbyszek Plocki of London, England, Phantom Wells and his wife Hannah Larkin-Wells of New Haven, Susan Wells and her partner Wendy Felletter of New Haven, and Dinah Wells and her husband John Mills of Guilford; and eight grandchildren.

A celebration of her life will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Nathanael B. Greene Community Center, 32 Church Street, Guilford.