Marion Bell
September 20, 1919 — December 22, 2013
Marion Bell, longtime resident of Prineville, Oregon and longtime member of the First Baptist Church there passed away in her sleep as a result of COPD at the apartment she shared with her son Roger in Schertz, Texas. She was 94 years of age at the time of her death during the night/early morning of December 22, 2013. Marion was born in Battle Creek, Iowa on September 20th, 1919 the daughter of Franklin and Josephine Carter. She was part of a large family with three sisters (Francis, Lorena and Rosemary) all of which preceded her in death, two brothers (James and Robert) who also preceded her in death and a third surviving brother John. Marion's father was a minister for the American Sunday School Union and as a child she traveled along with her family (sometimes by horse and wagon) during the 1920's and 30's while he held "Brush Arbor" meetings in the country sides of Iowa and Missouri. While attending a church camp in Missouri in the mid-1930s, she met and became friends with her future husband's sister Ruth Bell. Later while visiting her friend Ruth at her home near Kissee (Ka-Zee) Mills, Missouri, she met Ruth's brother Fred. She and Fred Bell were married on August 18, 1938 in Kirbyville, Missouri. Their daughter Kay was born in 1939. They lived near Fred's home in Missouri for about three years. Then Marion, Fred and their two year old daughter Kay moved to Kansas where Fred worked on an experiment farm near Cimarron. In 1947 Marion, her husband and daughter moved to Oregon where they settled and made their home in Brookfield Acres about three miles northwest of Prineville. Their son Roger was born in Prineville in 1948. After her husband became ill, Marion moved into Prineville's Queen's Garden mobile park on North Harwood to be closer to Ochoco Nursing Home where her husband was being cared for. She tirelessly visited her husband to help care for him and also volunteered for the nursing home's "Break Away" program to aid in the care of her husband and other nursing home patients. She continued her volunteer work with "Break Away" long after her husband Fred's death in 1995. Marion lived alone at Queen's Garden after her husband's death in 1995 until moving to live with her son in Texas in 2008. She remained there until her death in December of 2013. She is survived by her daughter Kay, her son Roger, five grandchildren and numerous great and great, great grandchildren. Marion touched the lives of everyone she met. She will be missed and remembered by all. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Marion's remains will be interned next to her husband's grave at Juniper Haven Cemetery in Prineville, Oregon.
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