Howard E. Bell

Howard Bell A few days ago we had to say goodbye to our father, grandfather, husband, uncle and friend, Howard Emory Bell. This time has been difficult for our family, but as Naomi and I sat down to write about our Dad's life our pain was eased and we were reminded again of our great love and respect for our father. Being born in Chicago on January 30, 1927, into what many historians consider the "greatest generation," his childhood was consumed by the depression. His family's great struggles with poverty were abundantly clear as his family always received the one "Christmas gift basket" designated for the poorest family in the church. Our father often told stories of his Uncle Arthur filling up a huge bin in the basement with potatoes from his nearby farm. Our grandmother was well aware of all the variety of ways to prepare potatoes so her four boys (Robert, Clarence, Frederick, Howard) wouldn't mind eating, at times, only potatoes during meals. My Dad also spoke of his strong mother, kind father and three older brothers who loved to teach my Dad about music, history, geography, chess and stamp collecting. My father and his brothers were challenged by another Uncle Arthur to pursue higher education as a way out of poverty. Using his uncle and brothers as an example he received a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a Master's degree in Statistics at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois respectively. For one year he served in the army. Later, he received a scholarship from the navy to MIT where he completed a master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Interestingly, he had several classes with Buzz Aldrin. After graduating he eventually ended up at Western Electric where he was introduced to Joyce Sampel, who he described as, "awfully, terribly nice." After their first date he asked our mother out every single day, saying she was a great conversationalist and seemed to really be interested in what he had to say. After a whirlwind romance of five months, they were married in 1955. Naomi was born in 1957 and Cindy in 1966. We both have many happy memories of games played, elaborate bedtime stories, and surprise Christmas gifts. He also had a wealth of true stories (which were often self-deprecating), that made us laugh until we cried. Whenever anything embarrassing happened to either of us he would say "this will make a good story later." Finally he settled into a career at Naval Avionics working on navigation systems. He worked on GPS systems before anyone else had ever heard of them. His work on inertial navigational systems took him on many trips on aircraft carriers including around the tip of South America. We were the only family we know of with home movies of airplanes landing on aircraft carriers. Dad was very happy when Cindy married Matt Reinhard and loved spending hours playing Charades, Risk and other games with his grandchildren, Daniel, Andrew, and Annemarie. They remember him telling funny childhood stories, laughing at his own jokes, and Monopoly games that lasted for days spread out over the dining room table. Even though he was a brilliant mathematician he was never too busy to explain the simplest mathematical concepts to anybody and everybody who needed or wanted help with Algebra, Statistics, Calculus, or for that matter anything academic. In fact he always seemed eager to help anyone with any academic or personal crises. Without judgment, he accepted everyone for who they really were by exhibiting gentleness, kindness, patience, and an incredible ability to listen. However, his sympathy sometimes extended to inanimate objects like the family car. For example, we all remember when he would make statements about our car similar to, "We should take the Chevette, so it won't get its feelings hurt." Naomi still apologizes to her car whenever she goes over a bump. Our father had many interests such as music, genealogy, history, physics, astronomy, traveling, and playing games and tennis. He was also deeply religious his whole life (his mother thought he should be a minister). Though not outwardly demonstrative, he spent much time reading his Bible and attaching notes to passages and verses he found meaningful. His family joined Hope Community Church (at one time, Devington CRC) over 50 years ago where he enjoyed fellowship and serving as an elder for many years. He especially had a passion for supporting mission work and prison ministries. Several days before his death, he prayed for his family, friends and church members for hours. A day before our father died our cousin Diane said that our parents were the nicest people she knows. From being on the inside of our small family, we would have to agree. Sincerely, The family of Howard Bell Howard E. Bell 86, Indianapolis, died Aug. 12, 2013. Service: 10 a.m. Aug. 16 in Hope Community Church, 7440 Hague Rd., with visitation there from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 15. Arrangements: Flanner and Buchanan - Memorial Park. You are invited to go to the Guest Book page to pass along your personal message or tell a story. Sincerely, -Your friends at Flanner and Buchanan