A Celebration of Glenn Bell’s Life, age 96, of Pineland, was held Friday, May 3, 2024 at Stringer & Griffin Funeral Home Chapel in Jasper, burial with military honors followed at Lone Star Cemetery in McElroy just south of Pineland.

Glenn Louis Bell slipped peacefully from this earthly plane, surrounded by family in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 27 in San Augustine, not far from his birthplace in Pineland. Glenn was born at home on Cherry Street on October 24, 1927 to Mae and Louis Bell, who was a longtime employee of Temple Lumber Co. He completed all years of schooling in Pineland, where he was an honor student, played saxophone in the Pineland High School Band, starred on the Pineland Indians basketball team and graduated with academic honors as class valedictorian in 1944.

He began classes at Texas A&M University on D-Day, June 6, 1944, where he was on the track team and was the only Sabine County native in history to letter in a varsity sport at Texas A&M University. He also served as Class President for Texas A&M’s Class of ’48, as a member of A&M’s Student Council, a member of the Y Cabinet, a member of the Student Life Committee and also as Company Commanding Officer of “A” Battery of Field Artillery in the Corps of Cadets. He was a 100 percent-er who “bled maroon” and remained an active supporter of the university, attending many football games and Lettermen’s Association events in College Station through the years and ultimately creating the Glenn L. ’48 and Carolyn “Pat” Bell Scholarship for accomplished students from Sabine County who are planning to enroll at Texas A&M.

Glenn graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station with degrees in petroleum and mechanical engineering at the age of 21. He served his country in the U.S. Army and after fulfillment of his military service he had a lengthy career as an engineer with Mobil Oil/Mobil Chemical Company, beginning in Beaumont, where he went to night school and earned his BBA degree in Business Administration from Lamar University and met his future wife, Carolyn Reese, whom he affectionately called “Pat” before being married in 1960 and then transferred to London, England for four years, then back to Beaumont and then to the Mobil offices at Greenway Plaza in Houston. They raised their two daughters, Glenna and Susan, in Kingwood, and enjoyed many family times and times with close friends. Attending the Church of Christ where he was a dedicated lifelong member, enjoying delightful home-cooked suppers and much-valued conversation around the dining room table and the unforgettable Sunday dinners Mama made. Weekend trips to Happy Return—the family retreat in McElroy near Pineland—and to the wonderful Reese family gatherings in Orange, singing along in the car to the sheet music Dad supplied. Quiet purposeful evenings at the Trails End Stables in Kingwood and showing Welsh ponies all over Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma to the tune of Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again.” The annual holiday visits from sister Dot, niece Phyllis and great nephews Josh and Luke. The birth of a beloved grandson and watching him grow day by day . . .

For so many precious memories, we are grateful. Glenn is survived by his wife of almost 64 years, Carolyn “Pat” Bell of Pineland, daughters, Glenna Bell of Houston and Susan Ferrier and husband Kevin of Porter; grandson, Kevin Ferrier, Jr. of Pineland and Daryl Montgomery, longtime friend of the family, Houston.

He was preceded in death by his son, Glenn Jr. and daughter Belinda, his parents, Louis and Mae Bell, and sister, Dorothy “Dot” McGee.

Services are under the direction of Stringer & Griffin Funeral Home of Jasper.