Bell, William Bonar Dr. died 1949

BELL, PRESTON, EDWARDS

Posted By: Reid R. Johnson (email)
Date: 8/5/2021 at 20:31:23

Clayton County Register, Thur., 14 April 1949.

Funeral services for Dr. William Bonar Bell, 71, who died March 30 in Washington, D.C., were held at the Trinity Episcopal church in Washington April 1. His ashes were brought to Elkader for burial April 4 by his wife, the former Clara Preston of Elkader, and his son, Commander David B. Bell of the U.S. Navy.

Dr. Bell, a biologist, retired in July, 1944, after 28 years of government service. He was a native of Milton, Iowa, and was graduated from Iowa Teachers College and the University of Iowa. From 1905 until 1916 he was assistant professor and later professor of zoology and physiology at North Dakota Agricultural College. Before he entered government employ he did research work at Naples, Italy.

Internationally known in his field, Dr. Bell was one of the sponsors of the 2,900 acre Patuxtent wildlife research station near Beltsville, Md., and was also responsible for the introduction of musk oxen from Greenland into Alaska about 1934. During his term in office wildlife research field stations were set up on public lands and research units established in cooperation with a number of colleges throughout the country.

Dr. Bell was past president of the Washington Biological Society, and a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Mammalogists, Society of American Foresters, American Forestry Association, American Orinthologists Union, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Xi, and Alpha Zeta. He was also a member of the Masonic order.

Besides his wife and their son, David, a daughter, Mrs. Julia Edwards of Los Angeles, Calif., and two grandchildren survive.