Mary Rita Bell

Mary Rita was born January 27, 1924, in Defiance, Ohio to Raymond and Rosalia (Desch) Minck. She attended local schools and worked from an early age to help support her family. She married Dennis Bell on May 7, 1945, in Seattle, Washington, when he was home on leave from service in the Pacific. They were divorced in 1971.

After the family moved to Bloomington in 1968, Mary worked a variety of jobs to provide for her family, often holding more than one job at a time to make ends meet. Her final and most fulfilling job was as Office Manager of the Centrillo Council of Girl Scouts in Bloomington.

She was a longtime and devoted member of First Christian Church where she volunteered countless hours and worked for many years as the wedding and funeral coordinator. She always greeted you with a smile and always had something nice to say to you. She had a wonderful self-deprecating sense of humor and could find a way to cheer you up with her glass half-full perspective.

She was a fierce defender of her family and friends. She rarely missed an event in the life of her children and grandchildren. Her green thumb was legendary, she had an ability to pick up a scrap of plant and to soon have a large, overflowing pot that she loved to subdivide and give away. She loved the many cats, especially Siamese, that she cared for over the years and she leave behind her last cat, Chris.

Surviving are her sister Teresa Schriner of Big Rapids, MI, and her children: Robert (Paula) Bell of Stevens Point, WI and Roger Bell of Bloomington, IL. She is further survived by son-in-law Gary Goveia; grandchildren: Kathryn Bell, Marshall Bell, Matthew Bell, Bradley Bell, Steven (Jamie) Goveia, David (Casie) Goveia, Kevin (Caitlin) Goveia, Travis (friend Sarah) Goveia, and Trevor Goveia; and great-grandchildren: Daniel, Georgia, Theo, Shepard, Walker, Ava, Maverick, Harrison, Lincoln, Franklin, and Reagan. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Margaret Schaufele, and daughter Mary Lou Goveia.

Please join us in celebrating the amazing life of Mary Rita and take home one of the many angels she collected over the years. A public visitation will be held at First Christian Church, Bloomington, on Wednesday, November 10th from 10:00am to noon. A service will follow at the church, and burial will be at East Lawn Memorial Gardens following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to First Christian Church, Bloomington.

The family sincerely thanks Dr. Leo Halperin, the OSF homecare and hospice teams, and her many friends at First Christian for supporting her as her life drew to a close. We especially thank grandsons Trevor and Travis Goveia (and friend Sarah) for the exceptional and loving care they gave Mary Rita during her last few months. Their outstanding love and care allowed her to stay in her home until her passing.

One of the grandchildren summed it up best – “She was the closest thing to a real angel I ever knew and there’s not doubt in my mind she’s being welcomed by God himself.”