Cover photo for Ellen Bell (Knebel) Bell's Obituary
Ellen Bell (Knebel) Bell Profile Photo
1924 Ellen 2015

Ellen Bell (Knebel) Bell

August 9, 1924 — August 7, 2015

ELLEN LOUISE BELL passed away on August 7, 2015 of congestive heart failure. Louise was born in Houston, Texas on August 9, 1924 to Bert Robert Knebel and Bertie Baty Knebel. She was the second of three daughters born to Bert and Bertie, sisters Jewel, born in 1920 and Sylvia born in 1935. The Knebel family moved to Long Beach, California in 1930 and then to Los Angeles where Louise lived until her marriage in 1940 to James Francis Bell (Frank). Frank was in the US Navy when they were married and when Frank's ship was stationed on the East Coast, Louise moved to South Carolina to live with Frank's mother and be near his ports of call. During World War II Louise wrote at least one letter a day to Frank and served with the Red Cross. These were very lonely and anxious times for Louise and she walked the mile to town twice a day to check to see if the passing trains had brought any letters from Frank. In May 1945 her daughter Gwen was born, followed by son Jim in 1947, and son Randy in 1956. The Bell family moved to Oregon in 1952 where they resided most of their lives. Louise began a banking career that she dearly loved and enjoyed, with many years of service at Douglas National Bank. She was affectionately known as "Ma" Bell to co-workers and customer alike. Louise began making beautiful porcelain dolls in her 70's and this became her favorite hobby along with the fishing trips to the coast with Frank. She was famous for her cooking, making delicious home made meals for every family gathering and holiday. Her yeast rolls are requested at all gatherings by family members to this day. Louise was a beautiful person inside and out, Frank was the love of her life and she was blessed with a marriage to him for almost 62 years before he passed. Suffering the loss of her two sons, Randy with Leukemia in 2005 and Jim of MS in 2013, was hard on Louise. She moved in with her daughter Gwen in 2012 and lived there until her passing, happily surrounded by her family, dog and bird. Louise was preceded in death by her mother and father, sister Jewell, husband Frank, sons Jim and Randy and nephew Bobby Wood. Louise is survived by her sister Sylvia Tucker (Jim), daughter Gwen Smith (Buck), grandchildren Debby Watkins (Paul), Suzy Gausnell (Steve), Jamie Parks, Mike Bell (Bonnie), and Chris Bell (Heather), 10 great grandchildren, nieces G'Nell Alexander and Susie Seaton (Jeff) and their extended families and daughter-in-law Lois Bell. A public viewing will be held at Wilson's Chapel of the Roses on Thursday, August 13, 2015 from 3 to 5 pm. Graveside services will be held at Roseburg Memorial Gardens on Friday, August 14, 2015 at 10:30 am. The family gratefully acknowledges the kindness and care given by the Doctors, RN's, CNA's, Chaplain and the Palliative Care and Hospice groups while Louise was in CHI Mercy Health Hospital.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Ellen Bell (Knebel) Bell, please visit our flower store.

Guestbook

Visits: 0

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree