Bell, Joann C. 1930-2024 St. Petersburg, Fla.
By NewsPress Now
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Joann Carolyn Bell, the daughter of Carl and Josephine (Salfrank) Tiemeyer, was born on March 25, 1930, in Rock Port, Missouri. She spent her childhood and much of her adult life in Rock Port, growing up on her parent’s 300-acre farm on the edge of town and graduating as Salutatorian from Rock Port High School.
Joann was married to Marvin Bell, and they welcomed three sons, Stephen, Patrick, and Nick. The couple moved to Cameron, Missouri, in 1979 and later to St. Joseph in 1981. Following Marvin’s death in 2009, Joann moved to Rockport, Massachusetts, to be near Stephen, his wife, Jill, and their sons, Jonathan and Matthew. In 2020, she relocated to Florida to be near Nick in St. Petersburg and Stephen and Jill in Sarasota.
Joann’s work outside the home started with a 25 cents/hour job sewing buttons on children’s clothing at a factory in Auburn, Nebraska, and then fulfilling catalog orders for Inter-State Nursery, in Hamburg, Iowa. Her career with the federal Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) saw her rise from office clerk in the Atchison County office to executive director of the Hamilton County, Missouri, office. Following her successful government career, she changed course and became an accomplished residential real estate agent in Cameron and St. Joseph. At one point, she led her St. Joseph Prudential Realty office in sales.
Joann pursued numerous hobbies during her lifetime. She had a lifelong love of animals and gardening that she passed on to her three sons. She enjoyed riding her horse, Dosta, as a child and was often accompanied by Shep, her constant canine companion. She played the French horn in high school and sang in the high school and church choirs. As an adult, she enjoyed landscaping each of the family’s homes and made sure each one included a rose garden. Later in life, she took classes to hone her writing and artistic skills. She enjoyed writing poetry and while living in Massachusetts, she authored and published a small book containing a collection of her childhood memories entitled Growing Up in the ’30s. She enjoyed painting and became a skilled landscape artist.
She was a member of the Rock Port, Missouri, and Rockport, Massachusetts, Baptist churches and the Rockport, Massachusetts, Garden Club.
Joann passed away Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in St. Petersburg following a short illness, at the age of 94. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Agnes Oslin; brother-in-law, Claud Oslin; and in-laws, Lloyd and Dorothy Bell.
She is survived by sons, Stephen and his wife, Jill, Sarasota and Rockport, Patrick, Solebury, Pennsylvania and New York City, and Nick, St. Petersburg; grandchildren, Thatcher, Tyler, Courtney, Jonathan, and Matthew; great-grandchildren, Fiona, Arlo, and Cayden; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Graveside Service and Interment: 12:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, Hunter Cemetery, Rock Port, Missouri.
There is no scheduled visitation.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to: The Humane Society of the United States, humanesociety.org/donate
Arrangements: Minter Funeral Chapel, Rock Port.
www.minterfuneralchapels.com As published in the St. Joseph News-Press.
