Mr. Bell passed away on Friday at the Bolivar General Hospital.
A native of Memphis, he was the son of the late James Edward and Dorothy Evon Prather Bell and lived most of his life in Memphis before moving to Hardeman County 19 years ago. He loved living in the "country" where he could observe and care for the wild life of this area.
He was a retired master mechanic for the City of Memphis where he worked for 10 years. He also was former owner of Bell's Sales and Service in Millington.
On October 28, 1982, he married the former Mabel Virginia Tanner Sauer. In his leisure time, Mr. Bell enjoyed NASCAR Racing and restoring older vehicles including cars, trucks and tractors to their original conditions. Described by his family as "The Best" husband and father, he had strong work ethic and was always willing to help someone in need.
He leaves his wife, Mabel V. Bell of Saulsbury; daughter, Ronnie Evon Largo (Joey) of Memphis; son, John E. Bell, Jr. of Munford; step-son, Werner B. Sauer of St. Cloud, MN; half-brother, Spencer Wood (Sandra) of Lakeland; nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a daughter, Connie Lou Anderson.
Memorials may be sent to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (http://www.stjude.org) or The Disabled American Veterans (http://www.dav.org).