Edmund Serle Bell, Jr. “Ed,” 86, active resident of the Kendal Community in Granville, Ohio, died May 31, 2012. He was born March 6, 1926 in Morgantown, West Virginia, to parents Edmund Serle Bell Sr. and Margaret Miller Bell.
Ed earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree at Cornell University where he was sent as a Naval Officer candidate, the first member of his family to earn a college degree. He served on active duty with the U.S. Naval reserve from 1944-1946 and 1955-57. He retired from the Naval service as a Lieutenant in 1960. Upon leaving the Navy, he was hired by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Ed came to Coshocton, Ohio, in 1950 after he was promoted for his efficient handling of the clean up after the troop train wreck in West Lafayette, Ohio.
Ed was introduced to his bride Barbara by her brother, Ned Thomson, who worked for Ed during on a summer crew in Coshocton. Ed and the late Barbara Jean Thomson, a fifth-generation Coshoctonian, were married in Coshocton on Nov. 1, 1952. In 1957, Ed accepted a position with Jones Metal Products Co. in West Lafayette, Ohio, as Director of Engineering, where he was employed for 35 years. He retired as Vice President of Engineering, and continued to serve on the Jones Metal Board of Directors until his death. A highlight of his career at Jones Metal was his work with Boeing Corp. in 1969, designing a critical part for the original 747 jumbo jet.
A patriot, Ed was a descendent of Revolutionary soldiers who fought for our country’s independence at Valley Forge and Yorktown. Ed was a civic-minded man, and served on the Coshocton City Council for five years in the 1960s; as Chair of the Coshocton County Republican Executive Committee for many years, retiring in 1986; member of the Coshocton County Board of Elections for 14 years; was a former member and Trustee of the First Presbyterian Church in Coshocton, and was an active member of First Presbyterian Church of Granville at the time of his death. He was a 50-year member of the Union Masonic Lodge #4 of Morgantown, West Virginia, where his father was a charter member. Ed served on the founding board of the Roscoe Village Foundation and as a trustee of the Pomerene Center for the Arts.An active retiree, Ed enjoyed golf, world travel, bridge and flying his own airplane to visit family and friends. His family remembers his loving devotion to his wife, daughters and grandchildren.
Ed is survived by daughters Molly Bell (husband Steve Chrypinski) of Plymouth, MI, and Elizabeth Bell Soppe (husband Dave Soppe) of Dublin, Ohio; grandchildren Kara Bell-Brey, Daniel Chrypinski, Emily and Sarah Soppe; sister Sarah Bell Shrewsbury of Cary, NC; and many nieces and nephews. He was the beloved husband of the late Barbara Thomson Bell, who died in 1994. He was also predeceased by younger brothers Gordon, Melvin, and Theodore.
Friends may call Sunday June 3, from 2-4:30 pm in the Assembly Hall at the Presbyterian Church, 142 N. 4th Street, Coshocton, Ohio 43812. Services in celebration of Ed’s life will be held in the sanctuary at the church on Monday, June 4 at 10 a.m. The Rev. Kathy Ketchum will officiate. Graveside service will follow at Roscoe Hill Cemetery where the Coshocton County Veterans council will conduct graveside military rites. A memorial service will be held at Kendal of Granville on Tuesday, June 5, at 11:00am. Memorial contributions in Ed’s honor may be made to the American Heart Association online at Heart.org.
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