Joyce Ann Bell

Joyce Ann Staley Bell was born to Wayne and Julia Staley outside of Mound City, Missouri on the kitchen table of the farm where she was raised. From those humble beginnings, she built an exceptional life defined by intelligence, determination, and independence.

A proud 1950 graduate of Mound City High School, Joyce was a member of the state championship clarinet quartet. She loved music throughout her life, especially Mario Lanza, Benny Goodman and the stirring sound of marching bands. 

Joyce met her husband, Earnest Charles “Earnie” Bell, while attending secretarial school in Phoenix, Arizona. They married in 1954 and Earnie promised her he would show her the world. 

They first moved to his hometown, Altoona, Pennsylvania, where they briefly owned a hog farm and welcomed their daughter, Julia Ann Bell. Earnie reentered the United States Air Force, beginning decades of military service that took them to Las Vegas, Nevada, Belleville, Illinois, Ramstein, Germany, Topeka, Kansas where their son Earnest Charles Staley Bell was born, and even a one-year assignment for Earnie in Greenland. The family later lived in Bitburg, Germany where Joyce proudly served as the base commander’s secretary. They endured Hurricane Camille during the one year they lived in Biloxi, Mississippi, later moved to Aviano, Italy and eventually to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma where Joyce worked for several years at the Oklahoma City VA Hospital. Joyce worked her entire adult life and was career-oriented long before women’s advancement in the workplace was widely recognized. While in Oklahoma, both she and Earnie began college in midlife. Joyce worked full time earning a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in computer science from University of Central Oklahoma—achieving these milestones in her 40’s and 50’s.

In 1985, following Earnie’s retirement and transition to civil service, they moved to Belleville, Illinois where they lived for approximately 31 years. Joyce worked as a computer programmer for the Air Force and traveled internationally installing computer systems. She found satisfaction in her work accomplishments.

Retirement did not slow Joyce down. She was an avid tapestry maker, devoted gardener and self-taught genealogist. She was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, working tirelessly to help others trace their lineage to Revolutionary War patriots. She traced her own ancestry back to the ship Fortune, which followed the Mayflower. She planted flowers, bushes and trees everywhere she lived, always leaving each home more beautiful that she found it.

In 2016, with Earnie’s dementia diagnosis, they moved to Norman, Oklahoma to be closer to family. Joyce was entirely devoted to his care until he died 4/21/2020. They had been married for 65 years. Joyce remained adventurous, intellectually curious and fiercely independent. She read long, thick history books, was the queen of current events, and took her Democratic politics seriously. She enjoyed swimming, gardening and traveling to visit her daughter in California and flying with her son in his V-tail Bonanza to reconnect with high school friends in Mound City—even at the age of 90.

Joyce was proud that both of her children became accomplished professionals, in large part due to the example that she and Earnie set. She treasured her only grandchild, Earnest Charles Bell III. She enjoyed attending his activities and following his accomplishments and pursuits with great interest.

For the past three years, Joyce resided at the Brookdale Assisted Living in Norman, where staff often remarked on her sharp intellect, strong will and ability to keep everyone “on their toes”. She started complicated jigsaw puzzles for the community’s enjoyment. 

Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her only sister, Barbara Johnson. She is survived by her daughter, Julia Ann Bell and her wife, Celia Marie Grohmann in Palm Desert, California, and her son, Earnest Charles Staley Bell and his wife Debra Meehan Bell, and their son, Earnest Charles Bell III of Norman, Oklahoma, as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Private memorials will be in Norman, Oklahoma and Forest City, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Benton Church Cemetery Association, in care of Chamberlain Funeral Home, P.O. Box 408, Oregon, Missouri 64473.