Virgil Leroy Bell

Obituary of Virgil Bell Virgil Leroy Bell, 91 , of Fruitland Park, FL, went to live with his Lord and Savior on Nov 10, 2015. He was born on Dec 14(15), 1923 in Sherwood, MI, the third child of Roland and Ellen James Bell. He is predeceased by his wife Carol Bell, an infant daughter, his parents, his sister Dorothy Bowyer, and his brother Robert Bell. He leaves six children: Sons, Roland V. Bell and Chris (Joyce) Bell of Fruitland Park, FL and Daniel (Melissa) Bell of Olaton, KY, Daughters, Beth (Randy) Osborne and Daphine (Paul) Harvey of Lady Lake, FL, and Jennifer (Steve) Keller of Grand Island, FL. He also leaves 27 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, a sister Joyce Bell of LaPorte, TX and a brother Weldon (Gwen) Bell of Mountain City, TN. Virgil enjoyed many hobbies including art in various mediums, ceramics, sculpture, painting, pen and ink and drawing. He could spend hours playing with clay with the grandkids. He enjoyed traveling from his childhood into his later years. A favorite pastime was traveling with his wife and children in their motor home throughout the United States and into Central America. He loved playing games of cards, board games, Scrabble, dominos and his all time favorite Chess. He enjoyed teaching Chess to others and started a chess club. Another favorite pastime was reading. He loved all books about science and nature with a few on politics. He was an avid sports fan enjoying football and Magic basketball. Although Virgil did some construction work as a young man and various other jobs, he spent most of his life self-employed as a dairy farmer in Lodge, SC and ceramic pottery manufacturer in Costa Rica and Leesburg, FL. After retiring he enjoyed selling his artwork at local flea markets. He was continually studying art to learn new techniques. He recently sketched in pen and ink a series of drawings of the historical buildings in Fruitland Park and donated the canvases to the Fruitland Park Library. He loved spending time with his family and telling stories of his antics from his childhood and the years on the dairy farm. He was very proud of his family and enjoyed telling people just how many grandchildren he had. He loved God and taught his children to love the Lord as well. He was a member of Carter's Ford Baptist Church in Lodge, SC and then a member of First Baptist Church of Fruitland Park, Fl. He served as a deacon and a Sunday School teacher. A public viewing will start at two o'clock with the memorial service following at three o'clock on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015 at Heritage Community Church, Fruitland Park. Donations made be made in his memory to Beyond the Walls Food Bank, Fruitland Park, FL.

Virgil Leroy Bell

November 10, 2015