He was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Harold Jack Bell and Janet M. Ball Bell. His father survives in Canton, Texas. Other survivors include two sons, Stephen L. Bell and Freddy D. Bell, both of Buckeye, Arizona; two brothers, Ray Bell, Houston, Texas; and Nathan Bell, Dallas, Texas; and four sisters Carolyn McCurley, Jefferson City; Cheryl Rice, Lake Forest, California; Jackie Ritz, Ft. Worth, Texas; and Kim Anderson, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was a member of Southridge Baptist Church. Memorials are suggested to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 1013, Columbia, MO 65205. He was a 1975 graduate of San Gabriel High School, San Gabriel, California; and received a Certificate in Machine Tools from Central Vocational Technical School, Sapulpa, Oklahoma, in 1985. He was employed in maintenance with Wal-Mart in Lake Havasu, Arizona.