Thomas Filcher Bell III

Thomas was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on March 9, 1931 to Thomas Filcher Bell Sr. and Mildred Pimm. Thomas grew up in Summit, New Jersey where he graduated from high school in 1949. He then attended and graduated from Lehigh University in 1953, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.

Thomas was immediately employed by Mobil Oil Corporation (now part of Exxon Mobil) where he would work for 46 years. He was then drafted into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he served from 1953 to 1955, primarily in Germany. After being discharged as a First Lieutenant, Thomas re-joined Mobil, where he specialized in designing marine terminals for oil tankers and later, “super” tankers. This led him to travel to many global locations, including Valdez, Alaska as part of the Trans Alaskan pipeline, London, England, Venice, Italy, Seoul, South Korea, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Lagos, Nigeria, and Fernando Po, an island off Equatorial Guinea. During his tenure at Mobil, he was “loaned” to the Corps of Engineers at times to assist in the design of flood control projects for the Mississippi River.

Thomas was married for 38 years to Joan Elizabeth Fischer and had two children, Thomas Fischer Bell and Linda Joan Costill (nee Bell). Joan passed away in 1991. He re-married to Dorothy Grady in 2000, who also predeceased him.

Thomas is survived by his two children, five grandchildren; Thomas S. (Ellen) Bell, James R. (Margaret) Bell, Elizabeth V. (Kyle) Skousen, Jennifer L. Costill and Kristine E. Costill, as well as nine great-grandchildren. Janice Sell, his partner, also survives him.

In lieu of gifts and flowers, the family request that contributions be made to the New Jersey Golf Association Caddy Scholarship Foundation. These can be made online at www.njgolf.org or to their address at 3 Golf Drive, Suite 206, Kenilworth, NJ 07033.

A memorial service will be scheduled for a later date.