{"id":11768,"date":"2026-07-20T18:18:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=11768"},"modified":"2026-07-20T18:18:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:18:28","slug":"nolan-wells-funeral-to-be-held-monday-in-mississippi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=11768","title":{"rendered":"Nolan Wells\u2019 funeral to be held Monday in Mississippi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"anchor-1a8da5\" class=\"body-graf\">OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. \u2014 The funeral for Nolan Wells, the teenage football star whose body was found on the shores of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/nolan-wells-death-mississippi-horn-island-rcna587854\" target=\"_blank\">Mississippi\u2019s Horn Island<\/a> days after he went missing July 4, will be held Monday morning. <\/p>\n<p><button class=\"styles_subscriptionCTA__LOUeY\" id=\"subscriptionCTA\" type=\"button\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMjQiIGhlaWdodD0iMTQiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAyNCAxNCIgZmlsbD0ibm9uZSIgeG1sbnM9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzIwMDAvc3ZnIj4KPGcgY2xpcC1wYXRoPSJ1cmwoI2NsaXAwXzM3M18yNjg3KSI+CjxwYXRoIGZpbGwtcnVsZT0iZXZlbm9kZCIgY2xpcC1ydWxlPSJldmVub2RkIiBkPSJNMTUuMTAwNiAwLjA2ODU1NTdDMTMuNTEwNiAtMC4zMDg5ODUgMTIuMDM5IDAuOTI3ODg0IDEyLjIwMjQgMi42MjQ5NEgxMi4yMDQzSDEzLjIzNDVDMTMuMjM0NSAyLjYyNDk0IDEzLjcxNTQgMi42MTkzIDEzLjg1NTMgMi45NDMzMUMxMy44NTUzIDIuOTQzMzEgMTIuMzMwMSAzLjUyMDg5IDEyLjQ1MTMgNC40NTkxMUwxMy40MDA4IDExLjM2MUwxNi43MjM1IDMuNDE3NTlDMTcuMjMwNiAyLjIxMTcxIDE2LjY2NDMgMC40MzI5NDggMTUuMTAwNiAwLjA2ODU1NTdaIiBmaWxsPSIjNjc1RUE5Ii8+CjxwYXRoIGZpbGwtcnVsZT0iZXZlbm9kZCIgY2xpcC1ydWxlPSJldmVub2RkIiBkPSJNMTAuNTUyMyAxMy45MzA1TDQuMDc2OCA5LjQxMzE1QzIuNDI4NTggOC4yNjA4MSAwLjc5ODIwNCA5LjQzNDc1IDAuNDUyNTk1IDEwLjY0OTFDLTAuMDU2NDI3OCAxMi40MzkxIDEuMDgzNzEgMTMuOTMwNSAyLjg3NTYyIDEzLjkzMDVIMTAuNTUyM1oiIGZpbGw9IiNGQ0NDMTYiLz4KPHBhdGggZmlsbC1ydWxlPSJldmVub2RkIiBjbGlwLXJ1bGU9ImV2ZW5vZGQiIGQ9Ik0xMS40MDI1IDIuNzM0NzlDMTEuNjQyIDAuOTgxMzg1IDEwLjE0MTIgLTAuMzE2NTI5IDguNTE2NDYgMC4wNjg1MjUzQzYuOTUyNzcgMC40MzI5MTggNi4zODY0NiAyLjIxMTY4IDYuODkzNiAzLjQxNzU2TDEwLjIxNjMgMTEuMzYwOUwxMS40MDI1IDIuNzM0NzlaIiBmaWxsPSIjRUQxOTQzIi8+CjxwYXRoIGZpbGwtcnVsZT0iZXZlbm9kZCIgY2xpcC1ydWxlPSJldmVub2RkIiBkPSJNOS45NTAzOSAxMi42NjM2TDYuNzYyOSA1LjA1NzM1QzYuMDE2MjcgMy4yOTM2MSA0LjA0MDI4IDMuMDc0NzkgMi45NDgwNCA0LjEwODhDMi4xNzk4MSA0LjgzNzU4IDEuNTgyNTEgNi44MjI5NiAzLjMwMjExIDguMDI1MDhMOS45NTAzOSAxMi42NjM2WiIgZmlsbD0iI0YzNzIyMSIvPgo8cGF0aCBmaWxsLXJ1bGU9ImV2ZW5vZGQiIGNsaXAtcnVsZT0iZXZlbm9kZCIgZD0iTTEzLjA2NDcgMTMuOTMwNUwxOS41NDAyIDkuNDEzMTVDMjEuMTg4NCA4LjI2MDgxIDIyLjgxODggOS40MzQ3NSAyMy4xNjQ0IDEwLjY0OTFDMjMuNjczNCAxMi40MzkxIDIyLjUzMzMgMTMuOTMwNSAyMC43NDE0IDEzLjkzMDVIMTMuMDY0N1oiIGZpbGw9IiMxM0FDNEIiLz4KPHBhdGggZmlsbC1ydWxlPSJldmVub2RkIiBjbGlwLXJ1bGU9ImV2ZW5vZGQiIGQ9Ik0xMy42NjY1IDEyLjY2MzZMMTYuODU0IDUuMDU3MzVDMTcuNjAwNiAzLjI5MzYxIDE5LjU3NjYgMy4wNzQ3OSAyMC42Njg5IDQuMTA4OEMyMS40MzcxIDQuODM3NTggMjIuMDM0NCA2LjgyMjk2IDIwLjMxNDggOC4wMjUwOEwxMy42NjY1IDEyLjY2MzZaIiBmaWxsPSIjMUU5Q0Q4Ii8+CjwvZz4KPGRlZnM+CjxjbGlwUGF0aCBpZD0iY2xpcDBfMzczXzI2ODciPgo8cmVjdCB3aWR0aD0iMjQiIGhlaWdodD0iMTMuODY2NyIgZmlsbD0id2hpdGUiLz4KPC9jbGlwUGF0aD4KPC9kZWZzPgo8L3N2Zz4K\" alt=\"NBC News Icon\" class=\"styles_icon__wRwWv\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"styles_textWrapper__vxvko\">\n<p class=\"styles_text__daaVB styles_textLarge__qlzwu\">Subscribe to read this story ad-free<\/p>\n<p class=\"styles_text__daaVB\">Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/rockcms\/2026-01\/arrow-f55fa5.svg\" alt=\"arrow\" class=\"styles_arrow__tnruW\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/button><\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-505217\" class=\"body-graf\">The service will be held at Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where Wells is from. The Wells family\u2019s attorney, Ben Crump, is set to deliver the call for justice; civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver Wells\u2019 eulogy. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-14de0a\" class=\"body-graf\">Hundreds are expected to attend the funeral Monday. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-5167b8\" class=\"body-graf\">Last week, Crump, along with Wells\u2019 parents \u2014 Elmore Wonsley and Christine Wells-Wonsley \u2014 spoke to the media about the pending funeral arrangements.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-025615\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cWhat we\u2019re going to do is kind of have a party to celebrate him,\u201d Wells-Wonsley said of her son Wednesday. \u201cWe want to celebrate him, and he would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating.\u201d <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-bc0e23\" class=\"body-graf\">The \u201cparty\u201d will be held at Jackson County Fairgrounds, she said, for friends, family and Wells\u2019 teammates. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-bb6244\" class=\"body-graf\">Crump also noted last week that Tyler Perry will be paying for the funeral. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-372a0c\" class=\"body-graf\">Wells and a group of friends went to Horn Island, off the coast of Mississippi, to celebrate July 4. The friends <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/nolan-wells-family-speaks-meeting-mississippi-da-rcna587629\" target=\"_blank\">returned to the mainland<\/a> later that afternoon and told police Wells opted to stay behind, saying he would catch a ride back later with others. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-fe0a86\" class=\"body-graf\">When he didn\u2019t return home that night, his mother reported him missing around midnight. A U.S. park ranger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/nolan-wells-family-speaks-days-teen-was-found-dead-mississippi-rcna357515\" target=\"_blank\">found Wells\u2019 body<\/a> on the northwest shore of Horn Island on July 6. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-5f4b71\" class=\"body-graf\">It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/nolan-wells-death-rcna587323\" target=\"_blank\">remains unclear<\/a> how Wells died. Officials have not yet released an autopsy report as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/investigation-underway-death-mississippi-nolan-wells-rcna353753\" target=\"_blank\">investigation<\/a> into the circumstances surrounding his death intensified. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-3e40ee\" class=\"body-graf\">Crump and Wells\u2019 parents have said they are leading their own investigation into his death, and performed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnewyork.com\/news\/local\/nolan-wells-update-family-press-conference-today-nyc\/6524188\/\" target=\"_blank\">independent autopsy<\/a> on Wells. Crump thanked Colin Kaepernick for paying for the independent autopsy at the news conference Wednesday. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-b30cdd\" class=\"body-graf\">Those who knew Wells remembered him fondly in the weeks following his death. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-faf9f9\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cNolan as a person I can say was an amazing human being,\u201d said Daniel Pickens, a friend from high school. \u201cI\u2019ve never heard anyone talk down on him. He truly lit up every room that he walked into. He was a stand-up, genuine and A-1 guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-1080ed\" class=\"endmark body-graf\">He added, \u201cIt\u2019s just so sad to see a gentle soul go out like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. \u2014 The funeral for Nolan Wells, the teenage football star whose body was found on the shores of Mississippi\u2019s Horn Island days after he went missing July 4, will be held Monday morning. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The service will be&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_nbcnews-fp-1200-630,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260710-3x2-nolan-wells-mn-868848.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}