Roger Edward Bell of Ellenton, Florida, passed away quietly during the early morning of Feb. 26. Roger was 88 years old and with his wife Mary had lived in Terra Siesta mobile home park for 19 years.
Roger was born Jan. 3, 1937, in Springfield, VT. His parents were John and Lucille Bell, and his sister was Linda. The Bells owned and operated Bell's Beauty Shop on Main Street.
As a boy, Roger had a paper route and biked or walked nearly all over Springfield. As a teen, Roger played basketball on the high school team and St. Mary's Parrish team. He enjoyed boating on Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire from his parents' cottage there.
After graduating from Springfield High School, Roger attended Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire for two years, then transferred to the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT. He majored in engineering and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsalon fraternity. After UVM, he returned to Springfield to work at the Ford dealership. From his early teens he had loved to work on cars, repairing and remodeling, and had owned an Edsel, a Studebaker and a Thunderbird among others.
In 1957, at UVM, Roger met his wife-to-be, Mary M. Day, also of Springfield. They dated through Mary's four years of college then married July 15, 1961 after Mary had graduated.
They both obtained jobs in North Adams, MA., Roger as an electronics technician at Sprague Electric, and Mary as an English teacher at Drury High School.
The family returned to Vermont in 1974, buying a home in Pownal. There they established a successful kennel, raising West Highland White Terriers, Scottish Terriers, and German Shepherds. During these years, the family enjoyed snowmobiling, and Roger went deer hunting every fall with his friends. He was always known for his talent in both building and repairing many different things, a true "Jack of all trades."
Roger continued working at Sprague, serving as vice president and grievance chairman of the local American Federation of Technical engineers, and president of the credit union, until the late 1990s when the plant closed.
Roger leaves his wife Mary, daughters Bonnie and her husband Robin Tripp of Pownal, and Sherry and her husband Kevin Grentzer of Ballston Spa, NY. Five grandchildren, Jeffrey Krawczyk (Megan), Pamela Somerville (Matt), Jared Tripp, Molly Reed (Ryan) and Emily Grentzer (Jake) as well as eight great-grandchildren.
Predeceased by his parents and his sister, Roger's extended family includes a niece and her family and several cousins.
After retiring, Roger and Mary traveled through the Eastern US, from the Canadian border to Key West, FL, and finally settled at Terra Siesta. At one time, Roger served as chairman of the park's Long Range Planning Committee and for many years ran the sound system for all music programs. There will be a memorial held on March 30th at the Terra Siesta Community Hall, in Ellenton, FL.
