PHYLLIS LOU BELL June 2, 1927 ~ July 22, 2017

Phyllis Lou Bell was born June 2, 1927 in Brownville, Nebraska and was the oldest of three kids; sister, Barbara (Bobby) and brother, Dale. Her father Timothy McComas and mother Helen made their living as farmers and had a meager existence but never went hungry. As a child Phyllis rode horse back to school everyday regardless of weather. Phyllis learned to read by reading the comics to her mother and had a life long love of reading. The Chicago Cubs baseball team was her favorite team and when asked why the Cubs she would say because that was the only radio station that came in good in Nebraska. At age 22 she and younger sister “Bobby” came to Oregon. Their father followed the daughters to Oregon a few years later. Her mother died at age 52 of a stroke. During the first summer or two that Phyllis came to Oregon she worked in a Fire Lookout Tower some 100 feet off the ground for months by herself. When she would reflect back on it she would say it was a great place to get lost in a good book in your own tree house. Phyllis met her husband of 65 years Delmer Bell at a church social. Their first date was at the Tic Toc restaurant, which was a Portland eatery for years. After being married for nearly 10 years they had their first of two kids; David in 1961 and younger brother Dennis in 1963. Phyllis worked initially at Mutual of Omaha then Templeton Lumber Co and shortly after Tumac Lumber for 40 plus years until she retired in the early 90’s. During retirement her biggest passion was reading and watching her family and grandkids grow up. She enjoyed reading anything from the Reader’s Digest, Smithsonian, and National Geographic and her desire for knowledge was intact until her death. Phyllis is survived by her husband, Delmer; sons, David and Dennis; grandkids, Dustin, Sarah, and Timothy; and great-grandson, Donovan. Phyllis will be forever cherished by her family and remembered as an optimist and for her never ending love and loyalty to her family.