Joan Bell Honore

Born on January 17, 1936 in Washington, D.C. Joan was the daughter of Francis Paul and Helena Charlotte McEntee. Joan’s first husband, Carl Edward Bell of Arlington, VA preceded her in death. Her brother William McEntee and grandson Carl Bell Jr also preceded her in death. She is survived by her two son’s Michael F. Bell of Richmond VA, Carl A. Bell (Cynthia)and grandchildren Matthew Bell, Megan (Sam) Dunn, great grandchildren Miles Samuel and Isla Joan Dunn of Norfolk, VA.

She is also survived by her stepdaughter Liz (Angelo) Schiavone, grandchildren Anna, Jennifer, Lizzy, Matt, and Tina of Herndon, VA and many great grandchildren. Also, stepdaughter Julie (James) Stanley and granddaughter Sarah of Knoxville, TN.

Joan attended grade school at St. Peters and High school at St. Cecilia’s in Washington, DC. She met her beloved first husband and love of her life Carl E. Bell shortly after high school. Together they raised two sons, Andy and Mike. She and Carl enjoyed 36 wonderful years together until his passing in 1990. They enjoyed a life together with family and friends, and often took trips to the mountains or nearby Cedarville State Forest.

Joan began working for American Security Bank in Washington, DC in 1965 where she worked her way to the position of Operations Officer until her retirement in 1986. As the manager of the Account Maintenance Dept., she was responsible for 37 employees. She was an invaluable asset to the bank where she worked tirelessly to discover errors, and investigate fraudulent activity. It was stated in one of her reviews that “Mrs. Bell’s primary flaw is that she tries to do too much herself and needs to delegate more of her duties to the supervisors”.

Joan was married to her second husband Pete Cox from 1993 until his passing in 1996. They enjoyed 3 short but loving years of marriage dedicating much of their time to Pete’s grandchildren who loved Joan as their own grandmother.

She was married to her third husband Bill Honore in 1999. They enjoyed 25 years of marriage until his passing in 2024. Together Joan and Bill enjoyed their combined families, loved gardening, and loved to go dancing together at various places including the Fairfax Elks lodge. They also traveled extensively around the world together, going to such countries as China, Ireland, Iceland, Russia and Africa.

A visitation will be held at Murphy Funeral Home in Falls Church on Tuesday, October 20th, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church, VA on Wednesday, October 21 at 1:00 p.m. Burial will follow at Washington National Cemetery on Thursday October 22nd.