Honor Wells Dexter

12/21/1921 - 2/12 /2024

Honor Wells Dexter, a long-time resident of Setauket, NY, and of Parkville, MD. since 2021, passed away peacefully on February 12, 2024 at the Cottages of Perry Hall, her assisted living community in Perry Hall, MD.

Honor was born in Willard, North Carolina, to Edwin and Arline Wells in 1921.  At age 6 her family moved to Philadelphia, PA where she attended the Holmesburg Elementary and Franklin High Schools.  When her brothers were drafted into World War II, she felt that if boys could serve the country, girls could too. So, she enlisted into the Women's Army Corps. After basic training, she was assigned to Los Alamos, NM supporting the Manhattan Project.

While serving, she earned the American Theater Campaign ribbon, the Good Conduct Medal, the Victory Ribbon, the Meritorious Unit Award, and a special commendation from the Secretary of War for contributing to the atomic bomb project.  She met and married Edward W. Dexter, an electronics tech working on the technical team.  After they were both honorably discharged, "Dex" earned a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering at Princeton University and was hired at the nascent Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he worked for 40+ years on the development of proton accelerators such as the Cosmotron and Alternating Gradient Synchrotron. With the birth of their third child in 1957, Honor and Dex bought a lovely home in Setauket, NY, where Honor lived until 2021.

She was very active in the Setauket Presbyterian Church for many years, participating in many "Circles" and served as a Deacon and Elder.  She also volunteered at the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, served as a Cub Scout den mother, and was a member of the Parent-Teachers Association, the New York Diabetic Association, and the League of Women Voters.  She was also an award-winning quilter, and a sought-after doll repair expert.

After a fall which forced her to abandon independent living, she moved in with her eldest son Ned and his wife in Parkville, MD in August of 2021.  She moved to the Cottages of Perry Hall, an assisted living facility, in the summer of 2023 where she enjoyed the comradery of her fellow residents and kind care of the staff.

She is survived by daughter Linda Hancher and her husband Dr. Michael Hancher, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ned Dexter and his wife Jeanne Galvin, of Parkville, Maryland; James Dexter and his wife Heidi Kaestner of Berlin, Connecticut and Long Island, New York; grandson Matthew Hancher and his wife Cary Rosko of San Francisco, California; her brothers Belvin Wells of Bucks County, PA and Jack Wells of Philadelphia, PA; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by her husband, Edward W. Dexter; daughter Dr. Barbara Dexter and her husband Dr. Paul Steineck of Yonkers, New York; and her brothers Reese Wells of Philadelphia, PA and Raymond Wells of Schwenksville, PA.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the Setauket Presbyterian Church https://www.setauketpresbyterian.org/new-giving , where Honor was a member for decades; or the Army Women's Foundation https://www.awfdn.org/ , a support group for female soldiers and veterans.