Lyle & Jeuyl C. Bell

Lyle W. Bell passed away on November 6, 1996 at the age of 80 and Jeuyl R. Bell passed on May 31, 2000, at the age of 79. They lived in Harper, Washington from July 1957 until their deaths.Lyle was a Tractor Mechanic most of his life. He was born in Bellingham, Washington on July 5, 1916, spent some time in Alaska as a young man then went to California when WWII started. He met Jeuyl at a USO dance in Sacramento, California. Shortly after marrying Jeuyl at Williams, California he was sent to England where he spent the last two years of the war as an MP. Upon returning to the states, he worked for his father-in-law as a dirt farmer. After 5 years he took a correspondence course in tractor repair and got a job in Pullman, Washington. The family lived there for 4 years, then moved to Longview, Washington for a year, and finally ended in Harper, just one mile from Lyle's boyhood home in South Colby. He worked as a mechanic on road construction and other places then on a rock crusher in Gorst, Washington. He retired early because of an injury.After retirement in 1976 Mr. Bell spent many hours volunteering through his church helping other church members and the community. He helped with Love, Inc. where he counseled those in financial distress, delivered food to needy families, and encouraged those who were downcast. He enjoyed fishing, reading the Bible, listening to semi-classical music and taking walks along the beach. Lyle was opinionated but always tried to say and do what was right. Children loved him because his pockets always had candy and gum in them and he was always more than willing to give it to anyone and everyone, especially children. The older he got the more wisdom he acquired and in the end became a very humble, compassionate man who truly loved God and wished to serve Him. He passed away after fighting cancer for 10 months. He will be missed by all who knew him.Jeuyl Colona Reister was born in Williams, California on July 2, 1920 where her father had a gas station and garage. When she was about 7 or 8 the family moved to Placerville, California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains where her father raised silver foxes. When the stock market crashed in 1929 the farm went bankrupt and Mr. Reister moved the family back to the Sacramento Valley and he became a farmer, like his father. After graduating from high school in Wlliams in 1939, Jeuyl and her sister, Melva, went to beauty school in Sacramento. She enjoyed the USO dances and that is where she and Lyle met.Mrs. Bell always like to sew. She made the bridesmaids dresses for her daughter's wedding, a suit for her son-in-law, miscellaneous outfits for all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In her later years her most famous work was her quilts. Every new family member in her own family or her church family received a nice hand-made quilt. In the last years of her life she started putting the names of the children and her name on each quilt. She, too, was an encourager and one who had a smile and a good word for all who knew her. She had her moments, as we all do, of putting her foot in her mouth. She was easy to love and, at times, hard to love..but, she was truly loved by all who knew her. Her greatest fear was being ill like Lyle beforre she died. Te Lord honored her by taking her quickly with an aneurysm while she was still healthy and active.The Bells left behind two sons, James M. Bell of Port Orchard, Washington and Raymond L. Bell of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They also had one daughter, Diana E. Plotner of Wichita, Kansas. In addition, when Mrs. Bell died they left 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.Both were members of the Harper Evangelical Free Church for over 40 years and founding members and founding members of Christ the Rock Church of Port Orchard.