Bell, Gilbert T. (1915-2018)

BELL, WATHEN, WILLIAMS, WIESNER, BRUGMAN, GROTE, AHRENHOLTZ

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 5/18/2021 at 17:36:23

Gilbert T. "Gib" Bell
October 10, 1915 - January 29, 2018

Gilbert Thomas “Gib” Bell, 102, passed away on Monday, January 29, 2018, at Wesley Acres Care Center in Des Moines.

Gib was born on October 10, 1915, in Aurelia, Iowa, to Grover Cleveland and Ethel Beulah (Wathen) Bell. During World War Il, he served as a Radioman in the US Navy on the USS Moffett from 1942-1945. Gib loved to dance to the big band music. After the war, he met his future wife, Wilda Mills Lawrence, at a dance at the Cobblestone Inn in Storm Lake, Iowa. After they married in June of 1965, they made their home in Albert City, Iowa, where he owned and operated Bell's Men's Shop for forty-two years, retiring in 1980. Gib and Wilda enjoyed living in a variety of Iowa towns including Panora, Jefferson, Bayard, and Spirit Lake. After Wilda passed away, Gib moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where he joined the Westgate Adelphic Masonic Lodge and Windsor Heights Lutheran Church. An avid fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes, they served as the theme for his 100th birthday party.

Gib is survived by his nieces and nephews: Mike Williams, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Jean Wiesner, of Estes Park, Colorado, and Kevin Brugman, of Aurelia, Iowa; his stepchildren: Kay Lawrence of West Branch, Iowa, Lora Lee McCool, of Guthrie Center, Iowa, and Kim Lawrence, of Anita, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his wife, Wilda Lawrence Bell; his parents; an infant brother, Alvin; and four sisters: Lola Grote, Betty Lou Ahrenholtz, Mertie Williams, Marcalyn Brugman; and his niece Cathi Grote.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 2, 2018, at Windsor Heights Lutheran Church in Windsor Heights, Iowa, where the family will receive friends for one hour before the service. Memorial Graveside Services will be held 2:00 p.m. Friday, February 2, 2018, at the Highland Township Cemetery near Bayard, Iowa. Memorial contributions may be made to the Windsor Heights Lutheran Church. Arrangements are with the Iles Funeral Homes – Westover Chapel.

Iles Funeral Homes, Windsor Heights, Iowa, 2018.

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