Lillie N. Wells, 66, production assistant

Lillie Nelson Wells, 66, of Wenonah, a former Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News production administrative assistant who from 2006 to 2012 headed the Southern New Jersey chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, died of cancer Monday, Feb. 23, at home.

Founded in 1981, the national organization promotes "leadership development and gender equity in the areas of health, education, and economic empowerment," its website states. It now has 60 chapters in 28 states.

In 2001, the Southern New Jersey chapter received its charter from the national organization.

Mrs. Wells was the chapter's executive vice president from 2001 to 2005 and had been a board member since 2001, daughter Marlo Wilson said.

Richard Danze, who was vice president for production for the two newspapers from 2004 to 2007, said in a phone interview that Mrs. Wells "was just the salt of the earth."

"There weren't enough things she could do to make everyone's life better," he said.

Mrs. Wells was born in Savannah, Ga. Her family moved to Camden in 1957, and she graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1967.

At her senior prom, her daughter said, Mrs. Wells "was crowned prom queen when the school was predominantly white."

She studied business administration at Rutgers-Camden. In 1970, she married Mark Wilson. They divorced in 2005.

Mrs. Wells worked at the Bulletin from the mid-1970s until the newspaper closed in 1982, mostly as a secretary to senior executives, and then in a similar role for the companies that published The Inquirer and the Daily News. She retired in 2012.

Since the 1970s, she had also worked as a community volunteer in political elections and campaigns, her daughter said, because "she wanted to ensure people of color would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin."

Besides her work with the National Coalition, Mrs. Wells was a member of the board of directors of the AIDS Coalition of Southern New Jersey from 2005 to 2010.

Besides her daughter, Mrs. Wells is survived by her husband, Nero; daughters Tracy Jowers and Margo Wilson; two brothers, two sisters; and three grandchildren. She is also survived by her former husband.

A viewing was set from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at First Baptist Church of Jericho, 981 Mail Ave., Deptford, before a 10 a.m. life celebration there.

Donations may be sent to Precious Lillie Scholarship Fund at www.gofundme.com/n7dkaw.

Condolences may be offered to the family at the Savin Funeral Home, 802 N. 12th St., Philadelphia 19123.