The questing spirit of Bill Wells led him into heady realms - the art department at Better Homes and Gardens, the glories of classic French cooking and the age- old mysteries of the Christian faith.

Father Wells, who founded and designed Estes Park's St. Francis of Assisi Church, was ordained in 1992 as a priest in the Traditional Anglican Communion after decades as a multimedia artist and a Colorado innkeeper.

He died Aug. 4 at his Estes Park home after a battle with liver cancer. He was 82.

Wilbur Lavern Wells was born July 30, 1926, in Hansel, Iowa. After a stint as a schoolteacher, he joined the staff at Better Homes and Gardens, headquartered in Des Moines, where he met a fellow editor, Doris Evans. They were married on Valentine's Day and spent all their days together until Mrs. Wells' death five years ago.

In 1965, the Wellses moved to Glen Haven, seven miles north of Estes Park. They transformed a rundown former brothel into the Inn of Glen Haven, a first-rate mountain hideaway featuring Escoffier-inspired French cuisine and other classic styles.

The inn grew famous for Father Wells' elaborate "12 Days of Christmas" feasts, complete with roast suckling pig and serenades by a holiday choir.

"Father Bill was as much an artist in the kitchen as he was in the (studio)," said Father Terence Gross, who succeeded him as rector at St. Francis of Assisi.

In 1978 the Wellses sold the inn. It is now operated by Tom and Sheila Sellers, who continue its culinary traditions.

Always a man of faith, the future priest allied himself with the traditionalist wing of the Church of England when internal disputes rocked the denomination in the late 1970s.

In 1981 he became a deacon and 11 years later rector of the church, which he had designed and where he had created eight classic stained-glass windows, several traditional Franciscan crucifixes and beautiful pounded copper work.

"He was filled with the compassion of Christ and the authentic life of the disciple," Gross said. "That touched everything he did."

Father Wells also designed theater sets for the Estes Park Fine Arts Guild - his Hello Dolly work was a favorite - and indulged a lifelong love of music and poetry. At the Wellses' first home, in Carlisle, Iowa, he installed a full- scale church pipe organ.

Father Wells' requiem Mass was Aug. 11 at the church he long served. His ashes were to be interred beneath the altar.

Survivors include a son, Stuart Wells, of Greeley; a daughter, Suzie Sedy, of Washington state; a sister, Eleanor Tamm, of Iowa: and five grandchildren.