When Marie Wells OAM passed away on September 26, aged 93 years, the WA dental community lost a very loved and respected member. Marie ran the Dental Assistants’ Association’s training course, under the auspices of ADAWA. It later became a national organisation (The Dental Assistants’ Association of Australia), which meant dentists were ostensibly in charge, but Marie remained the figurehead in WA. She also served as the Federal President of DAAA for some years. Friend and colleague Kay Wright says Marie was very respected in the industry and set the bar high for her students. “She had a very high standard and was always magnificently groomed and dressed,” Kay recalls. ADAWA received some of the following memories of Marie, from her past students:
In memory of
Marie Wells oam
We pay tribute to Marie Wells – the passionate and generous woman who educated many dental assistants in WA.
“Marie trained me back in 1996 in Perth. I remember how strict she was, and the very high standards Marie set. A fabulous teacher. I won’t ever forget her.” “She was my trainer when I was 17, now I’m 54. She even pulled me in for extra training on a Sunday because she said I could do better. I thought she was so hard on me, but it turned out she told me I was one of her favourite students and I ended up passing with credits. She was an amazing lady, very strict in teaching, with a heart of gold.” “Marie Wells was an amazing teacher; her dental assisting course had the best reputation in Perth. I was also 17 when I trained with her and I’m now 51. She had very high standards: no nail polish and cut fingernails, stockings with no ladders, no jewellery unless earring studs, and no scrunchies, only elastics and clips. White shoes had to be polished also – inspections at every class in Midland on Thursday nights. She had very strong ethics. Her students always had to be working whilst studying at night, which was the best way to learn. She was hard but also had a soft side and turned out some amazing dental assistants.”
44
EDITION 8 | 2021 WESTERN ARTICULATOR
