Helen Bell

Helen Bell, age 78, of Giltner, died peacefully Friday, March 14, 2008, at her home in Giltner.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 A.M., Tuesday, March 18th at the Giltner United Methodist Church. Rev. Marta Wheeler will officiate. Interment will be in the Giltner Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 P.M. on Monday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary in Aurora. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com. Memorials may be made to the Giltner United Methodist Church.

OBITUARY: HELEN BELL

Helen Jeanne Bell, the daughter of Ferdinand and Frances Alta (Schmidt) Spath, was born on October 24, 1929 in Plainview, Nebraska. The family later moved to Gordon, Nebraska and then to Aurora where she graduated from Aurora High School in 1947.

Helen was united in marriage to Glenn Bell on November 24, 1948 in Aurora. Following their marriage she taught country school near Chapman and Harvard for several years. They moved to Giltner in 1950 where she helped Glenn on the farm and raised their five children.

Helen was a member of the Giltner United Methodist Church where she was active with the United Methodist Women. She was also church choir director for many years. She had many hobbies and some of her favorites were gardening, sewing, quilting, baking and decorating cakes, and bowling. Helen enjoyed doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles and loved watching Husker ballgames on tv. She gave her time as a Cub Scout leader for several years. Helen met Glenn 60 years ago at a Giltner dance and they enjoyed dancing together for many years.

Those who remain to cherish her memory are her husband, Glenn Bell of Giltner; son, Patrick (Peggy) Bell of Giltner; three daughters, Glenda (Mike) Hawthorne of Giltner, Janet (John) Golon of Collierville, TN and Julie Olson of Giltner; 11 grandchildren: Dana (Todd) DeVries of Aurora, Heather (Ben) O’Neill of Lincoln, Darla (Justin) Roche of Elkhorn, Eric Bell of Lexington, Kyle (Julie) Bell of Lincoln, Kelly (Caleb) Schelkopf of Hickman, Hillary Troudt of York, Lindsay (Jim) Hurtz of Omaha, Natalie Olson of Giltner, Phoebe Olson of Kearney, and AJ Golon of Collierville, TN; and 7 great grandchildren: Megan, Blake, Wyatt, Olivia, Bentley, Marcus and Nolan. Also surviving are a brother, Rolland (Jackie) Spath of Grand Island; three sisters, Doris Ann (Howard) Bieck of Giltner, Jill Cameron of Lincoln and Judy Topham of Princeton, IL; numerous nieces and nephews and other family members and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her son, Chris; son-in-law, Ben Olson; great grandson, Carson; parents; and brother, Loren Spath.