Juanita Elizabeth Wells was born on August 4th, 1929, in Topeka, Kansas. A couple of months later, the great depression would hit. Times being extremely hard, Juanita was placed in an orphanage. At an early age, Juanita was adopted by William and Maude Murphy of Kansas City, Missouri. 

She graduated from East High School in 1948. It was at East High School where she met and married David Kirk Gutridge in 1949. They had 6 children. David Kirk Jr, Cherryl Elizabeth, Timothy Michael, Kevin Patrick, Daniel Wayne, and Scott Andrew. In 1967, Juanita began working at Sears and Roebucks until her retirement in 1991. Juanita and David were married 27 years until David's passing in 1976.

In 1982, Juanita began attending Sheffield Family Life Center. That same year she would accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour. She sat under Pastor George Westlake's teachings for the next 15 years. It was at Sheffield where she met Carmen Duncan. Carmen would be Mom's very close friend for the rest of her life. 

In 1992, Juanita married James Wells, a Korean War Veteran she had met at a church singles gathering. They lived in Holden, Missouri, until Jim's passing in 2012. In 2023, Juanita moved in with her son Daniel and his wife Jackie of Blue Springs, Missouri. Jackie and Daniel would be Mom's caretakers for the rest of her days.

When Juanita was young, she was highly active in square dancing. She loved attending Church and Church functions. Juanita loved the Kansas City Chiefs from the Lenny Dawson days to the Patrick Mahomes Era. She loved watching western television shows from the 1950's. Juanita lived to be 96 years of age. Mom's last wish and greatest prayer would be that her entire family would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. She leaves behind 5 living children, one who has gone on before us, 15 grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren. We love you mom. You will be greatly missed; however, we will see you again.