Obituary of John Brendan Bell, Sr.

WESTON, CONN

John Bell Sr. (Jack to family and friends) was a 38-year resident of Weston, CT and before that, lived in Lewisburg, PA and Chatham, NJ. John died peacefully at home on May 4th, 2019. He was 88.

John was born in East Orange, NJ to Raymond and Mary (Corbett) Bell. He was predeceased by his brother Kevin and half-brothers Richard and Raymond Bell of New Jersey and one sister Mary Bell Halleran of Florida.

John is survived by his wife Sharon and four children: daughter Kathleen (husband Peter) Giuliano, and three sons, John Jr. (wife Claire), Terry (wife Theresa), and Timothy; four grandchildren, Gerard and Carlos Giuliano and Lydia and Jack Bell III, two sisters, Patricia Bell and Trudi (husband Harry) Keebler; and by nieces and nephews on both the East and West Coasts.

John held an MBA from Harvard and a Master's Degree from Fordham University. He was employed by International Paper Co. for over thirty years. He joined IP Co. in 1952 in the Whippany, NJ Accounting Department. He then became Plant Accountant in Kansas City and was transferred to Los Angeles, CA and then to San Jose. He was again transferred to the Internal Auditing Department, travelling to most divisions of the company.

In 1978, John accepted the position of Plant Manager at IP Co's Formed Fabrics Plant in Lewisburg, PA for a period of five years, returning to the NY office to assume the position of Assistant to the Treasurer. John retired in 1984 and then accepted the position of President and CEO of Key Products Industries in New Hampshire before retiring in 1995.

John was an avid fly-fisherman and could be found daily casting his line in CT rivers. He has the record of landing a 10 lb. rainbow trout from the Saugatuck River in Weston, CT on a 7x tippet line, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

John's second favorite pastime was restoring classic automobiles such as his Triumph Stag. And, probably because John was a distant ancestor of Gentleman Jim Corbett, he enjoyed the sport of boxing as a middleweight Golden Glove Boxer in New Jersey, sparring with professionals such as Bucky Jones and Johnny Green. This was a favorite sport in his senior years when "Boxing for Parkinson's" was developed in the Westport Senior Citizens Program for those with the disease.

Jack was a kind, patient man, loved by his family and friends, and is missed dearly by all.

Viewing will be held on Thursday, May 16th, from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Collins Funeral Home, 92 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, May 17th, at 11:00 a.m. in St. Francis of Assisi Church, 35 Norfield Rd., Weston, CT.

Burial will follow in Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport, CT. Please visit www.collinsfh.com/obituaries to leave condolences.