CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 the Penland-Bell Funeral Home. Buying out Ward in 1962, Bill then operated the business as Bell Mortuary. He was also active at this time in farming and was a crop sprayer for 30 years. Additionally, he owned a vault manufacturing company, and a cement trucking company as well. Bill was active with the Montana Aeronautics Division and served as President of the Montana State Chamber of Commerce from 1964 to 1965. Bill’s two sons, Steven C. Bell and W. Kent Bell, both worked at Bell Mortuary, following in their father’s – and grandfather’s – footsteps. And Bill’s daughters, Cherie, Kathy, Kari, and Jenny were the light of his life. He passed away in 2018. Marvin Edwards married Bill’s eldest daughter Cherie in 1966. They attended Northern Montana College and Marvin also worked at Bell Mortuary. He received his mortuary science training at Mount Hood in Portland in 1969 and 1970. He returned to Bell Mortuary and they purchased Eliason Funeral in Chinook in 1973. Marvin operated the renamed Edwards Funeral Home from 1973 to 2011, when he passed away. Marvin and Cherie’s daughter, Camia Edwards Savage, received her mortuary science training at the Simmons Mortuary Institute of Funeral Service in New York in 1997. She was active until Cherie sold Edwards Funeral Home in 2017. In 1974, Steven C. Bell completed his college career, attending Kemper Military Academy in Missouri, the University of Utah, Carroll College in Helena, and completed his mortuary training at Mount Hood in Portland. Steven operated the Bell Mortuary in Glasgow from 1974 till his retirement in 2015. Steve and his wife, Vickie, had three children. Brother Kent attended Carroll College and received his funeral home training at the University of Minnesota in 1976. He moved back to Glasgow in 1991 and worked with Steve until he retired in 2015. Kent and wife Kathy also had three children. Kent served as President of MFDA in 2009, and Steve served as President in 2013. Steve passed away in June of 2019. Kent’s oldest son, Brian Bell, attended Montana State University, graduating in 2000. He then received his mortuary science training at Mount Hood in Portland, graduating in 2002, and returned to Bell Mortuary. Brian and his wife, Victoria, have three children and live in Glasgow. It has been a privilege for the four generations of the Bell Family to be in funeral service these past 85 years, from 1930 to 2015. It has also been a great experience to work with the talented and wonderful people who comprise funeral service in Montana. ■ He moved back to Glasgow in 1991 and worked with Steve until he retired in 2015. Kent and wife Kathy also had three children. Kent served as President of MFDA in 2009, and Steve served as President in 2013. 14 Montana Funeral Directors Association
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