Irene Bell

Irene Oakes Bell was born September 10,1910, and raised with her three sisters and one brother on a tobacco farm in Clover, Virginia. She and her sisters played basketball on the Clover High girls team. Irene met her beloved husband, David Robert Bell, in Washington, DC, and lived in Bethesda, Maryland until 1946. David R. was transferred by his employer, TWA, to New Castle, Delaware that year, and in 1949 he and his family were transferred again to Kansas City. Living in Mission, Kansas, Irene became a skilled bridge player, belonging to several local bridge clubs. Her daughter Joyce and her son David E. attended grade school and high school in Mission, and the University of Kansas at Lawrence. Several years after retiring from TWA in 1972, David and Irene moved to Sun City, Arizona. Irene continued her enjoyment with bridge by joining several clubs in Sun City. They were members of the Willowbrook Methodist Church. Irene and Dave's daughter, Joyce Arlene Barry, lived in Tulsa until her death in 1982. Her son lives in San Anselmo, California, with his wife Lydia and daughter Julianne. Irene and David R. leaves grandson Scott Cole of Bainbridge Island, Washington, grandaughters Megan Berry, Leslie Palmer and their brother Matt Berry of Oklahoma City, and granddaughter Julianne. Irene's final resting place will be with her husband in Clover, Virginia, where they will rest in peace together alongside other members of the Oakes family. She and David R. will be missed, but remembered fondly by family and friends. May God grant them eternal happiness.