Richard 'Dick' W. Bell

RICHARD “DICK” W. BELL

Cedar Rapids

Richard "Dick" W. Bell, 86, passed away at the UnityPoint-St. Luke's Hospital on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, surrounded by his loving family.

A visitation will be held at the Cedar Memorial Park Chapel Stateroom on Tuesday, Dec. 21, from 4 to 7 p.m. A funeral service will be held at the Cedar Memorial Park Chapel of Memories on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 1 p.m. with Certified Celebrant Dr. James Coyle officiating. A livestream of the service will be available on the Cedar Memorial website under Dick's obituary under the video tab starting on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 1 p.m. Interment to follow at the Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery-Acacia.

Dick was born on Sept. 7, 1935, in West Union, Iowa, to the late Dorothy Knight Bell and Wilbur Bell. He was baptized on Easter Sunday, 1936, at the Fayette Methodist Church. The family lived in Fayette, Iowa, for several years until his father, Wilbur, sold his innovative soybean plant in 1945 and moved to Arcadia, Calif., where Dick really found his love for trains and insulators; the war was going on at that time.

They moved back to Iowa in 1946. Dick attended the old "Chandler Estate," aka Cleveland Grade School, then graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1954 and played for the Cedar Rapids Symphony the following year. He then joined the Iowa National Guard from 1958-1964. He attended Coe College for one year in 1960 for pre-med while working for Rohn's Funeral Home parttime, and a few other sales positions between then. He worked with Bob Drew at Killian's in sporting goods for 12 years until they went out of business.

Richard was quite good at financial opportunities and remained a self-employed investor until the time of his death. Richard belonged to many clubs and organizations such as the NRHS (National Railroad Historical Society), the NIA (National Insulator Association) and the Cadillac LaSalle Club, and he was a lifetime member of the NRA. The most important club of all that Dick was a part of was that of Jesus Christ and his followers and was a member of Trinity St. James Methodist Church until his last days. Richard had many friends and never met a stranger.

Dick is survived by his cousin, Sherwood Morf of Green Valley, Ariz.; his family, Mike (Jenni) Cutter of Cedar Rapids and their children Caleb and Landon, and Bryan (Rosie) Cutter of Cedar Rapids and their children Hailey and Reegan Cutter; and some of his closest friends and caregivers, including Sara and Jason Kohl, Wendy Marner, Sharon Kayser and his lady-friend, Joan Hinton.

Dick was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the family.

Condolences may be left to the family at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.