Death in the Family

I just found out that my first cousin once removed died last week. I wasn't close to him - I saw him maybe once every couple of years at our annual family reunion. I'm a bit ashamed to admit that it took a few minutes for me to search my mental file to put a face with the name (in my defense, I come from a huge family with lots of name duplication).

But he was family, and I believe that relatives deserve to be remembered regardless of how close you were to them. So I am posting his obituary from the Hope Star:

Jeff Bell

MINERAL SPRINGS, AR--Jeffrey Wayne “Jeff” Bell, 57, of Mineral Springs died suddenly in a Nashville hospital on March 29, 2007. He was a rancher and owner of an excavation service.

He loved his family and friends and was a master storyteller. He was a perfectionist who took pride in a job well done as the beautifully sculpted rolling hills of the Bell farm attest. He was a member of Mineral Springs First United Methodist Church.

He was preceded in death by one brother, Larry Marvin Bell and his mother, Cora Mae Bell.

Survivors include his wife and best friend, LaNelle Booker Bell, of Mineral Springs; one son, Ryan Bell and wife, Lisa, and their children, Jagger and Skye Bell, of Forney, Texas; one stepson, Michael Walters, of Orlando, Fla.; his father, J. F. Bell, of Mineral Springs; special mother-in-law, Wilma Booker, “Booker Momma,” of Washington; six sisters, Delilah Harbison, of Westfork, Kay Erwin, of Mineral Springs, Lisa Summerford, of Fayetteville, Pam New, of Texarkana, Jeri JOnes, of Nashville, and Tracy Hensley, of Mena; LaNell's brother, Joe Booker, of Washington; one granddaughter, Taylor Bell, of Dallas, Texas, and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 1, at Brazzel/Oakcrest Funeral Home in Hope, with the Rev. Jimmy Dale and Vickie Stephens officiating. Burial will follow in Mineral Springs Cemetery in Mineral Springs.

Arrangements are by Brazzel/Oakcrest Funeral Home in Hope. Family will receive friends on Saturday, March 31, from 6-8 p.m. at Brazzel/Oakcrest Funeral Home in Hope.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mineral Springs First United Methodist Church, Minder Springs, AR. or to Old Washington United Methodist Church, Washington, AR.