Joseph "Joe" Tyson Bell

Died peacefully on Sep. 20, 2014 at the Alive Hospice Center at the age of 99.

He was the youngest child of the late John Welch and Martha Bobbitt Bell. Joe was born May 4, 1915 in his home in the small town of Neptune, TN located approximately 10 miles NW of Ashland City, TN. He lived there until he was five years old when his family moved to Nashville. His father worked as a custodian at the Baptist Sunday School Board in downtown Nashville while Joe was growing up. Joe left high school prior to graduation to play baseball. He was a second baseman and played until he caught a flu virus that affected his throwing arm. Even though he quit playing, he was an avid baseball fan his entire life. Joe also enjoyed fishing, working on electronics and doing jigsaw puzzles. He then worked several jobs including installing radios at Western Auto and working for Foreman Ice Cream Company. He married the late Shirley Pamplin on Feb. 6, 1942 and was drafted into the Army the following May. He and Shirley traveled to various Army Camps together while he received weapons training and training as a Cryptographic Technician (learning how to encode and decode messages). In Oct 1943, he shipped out to Europe from where he served until Aug 1945. On returning to the states following the war, he started working at the U.S. Post Office in downtown Nashville where he worked as a postal clerk until he retired in 1980. He and Shirley had two sons, Larry and Steve. They were members of Judson Baptist Church. Just prior to Shirley’s death they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. For the past 2 ½ years, Joe resided at Wellington Place, an assisted-living facility in Brentwood, TN.

Joe is survived by his sons, Larry Tyson Bell and his wife Brenda of Englewood, FL; John Stephen Bell and his wife Elizabeth of Franklin, TN; his grandchildren, Jennifer MacCord and her husband Damien of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Graham Bell and his wife Tara of Ft. Myers, FL; Stephen Bell of Nashville, TN; and Alexis Bell of Franklin, TN; and, his great-grandchildren Ashlyn and Gabriella MacCord.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley Pamplin Bell; his brother, James Emerson Bell; and, his sisters, Mary Ann Bell and Margaret Hudson, all of Nashville, TN.

Funeral Services will be held Sept. 25th at Judson Baptist Church, 4900 Franklin Rd, Nashville, TN. Visitation will begin at 11 am and the memorial service will begin at 1 pm. Burial will be immediately following at Woodlawn Memorial Park.

Arrangements are under the direction of Eastland Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Nashville, TN.