Dorothy Jean Bell

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” II Corinthians 5:8 As we retrace the footprints of Dorothy Jean Bell we can only give thanks for the many lives she touched and enriched along life’s journey. A meek and humble woman, she was blessed to enjoy many of God’s blessings as a child, a wife, and a mother. Dorothy began her journey of life on January 15, 1923, in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee as the daughter of Uriah and Annie Kate Harvery Reid. She accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior at a young age. She attended DuSable High School in Chicago, Illinois and was a 1941 graduate of Wendell Phillips Highs School in Chicago. On August 25, 1944, she became Mrs. Dorothy Bell when she married Roy Neal Bell, Jr., a handsome Navy man from Arkansas. She and her one true love together laid a solid foundation for family life based on love, commitment, and Christian values. They later became proud parents of eight children. Dorothy was a part of that generation that counted motherhood as a virtue because mothers knew the difference between a house and home. So Dorothy's golden accomplishment in life was to make a loving home that would produce a tapestry of memories her family would forever cherish. She was that warm hand on a cold morning; that voice of wisdom and reason when the world was upside-down; that vessel of hope that carried loved ones and friends safely across rivers of change in their lives. Throughout the years she worked various jobs. She finally landed a position as a mail clerk for the United Postal Service in Chicago, Illinois and after 25 years of service she retired. In 1990, the Bell’s moved to Curtis, Arkansas and built their dream retirement home. In 1994, Mr. & Mrs. Bell celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married nearly 65 years. They united with the St. Ruth Baptist Church in Gum Springs, Arkansas under the pastorate of Rev. C. G. Thomas. In May 2004 she was honored by the St. Ruth Church family as “Mother of the Year”. Her faith always presented a bright lighthouse in her life and the life of her family. In her 86th season of life, Dorothy received her blessing of immortality on Sunday, May 17, 2009, at Baptist Health Medical Center in Arkadelphia. She was welcomed home by her parents, two children, Carrie Bell Dudley, and Essie Robertson; one sister, Madgie Washington and a brother, Albert Reed. She leaves to celebrate and honor her life’s journey: Roy, a devoted and loving husband, six children, Royce Brown of Curtis, AR,Georgia (Ronald) Benjamin of Chicago, IL, Roy Bell, III., of Moreno Valley, CA, Louise Bell of Pasadena, CA, Patricia Bell of Moreno Valley, CA, and Dorothy Bell of Chicago Heights, IL; twenty grandchildren; twenty-seven great-grandchildren and ten great-great grandchildren. She also leaves a three special nieces whom were cherished as daughters, Dorothy Gregory, Sharon Washington, Alfreda Redd; nephews, cousins, friends, and the St. Ruth Baptist Church family. Many lives have been made brighter and more enriched because of Dorothy Jean. Her legacy will live on. Mrs. Bell will lie in state at Williams Funeral Home on Thursday, May 21, 2009, from 12:00 noon until 7:00 p.m. The Bell family will greet friends and share with them the Images of Life DVD from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. A Service of Triumph & Thanksgiving will be shared at 12:00 noon on Friday, May 22, 2009, in the sanctuary of St. Ruth Baptist Church in Gum Springs, Arkansas where Rev. Thomas Hale, is pastor and will preach a message of comfort and hope. The committal service & earthly resting place will be in Burtsell Cemetery. Beaerers of the casket will be Roosevelt Davis, Jr., Merlin McPeak, Kenneth Brown, Miles Brown, Tommy King, and Gene Barnes.