Obituaries

April 11, 1934 to March 21, 2015

RENSSELAER - Imogene Richie Bell, 80, of Rensselaer passed away Saturday, March 21, at the VNA Horton Hospice Center in Valparaiso.

She was born in Elmrock, Ky. on April 11, 1934, the daughter of the late Coet and Hattie (Messer) Dobson. Her first marriage was to Frelin Richie on Oct. 4, 1952, and he passed away on Feb. 20, 1980. On Aug. 26, 1989, she married Thomas Jefferson Bell, and he passed away on Oct. 23, 1993.

Surviving are her loving children, Loretta Heidler of DeMotte, Karen Harding of Crown Point, Colleen (Charles) DeMoss of Wheatfield and Douglas (Tina) Richie of Rensselaer; nine grandchildren; and 11 great grandchildren. She is also survived by brothers, Hobart (Adna) Dobson of Rensselaer and William (Diane) Dobson of Florida; sisters Claudine Childers of Francesville and Gladys (Larry) Stonebraker of Brookston; brother-in-law, Cecil Williams of Rensselaer; and two sisters-in-law, Jean Dobson of Winamac and Alice Dobson of Rensselaer.

She was preceded in death by a daughter, Vicky Lynn Richie; brothers, John and James Dobson; and a sister, Erma Williams.

Mrs. Bell graduated from the Gillam Township School. She was an employee of Sealy Spring manufacturing for the majority of her working years and was also employed as a secretary at Jim Dobson Ford in Winamac before entering into retirement. She was a member of the Hamlet Lions Club, the Starke County Historical Society, and the Better Homes Home Economics Club in Knox. She was a graduate of the Dale Carnegie Skills for Success Course, and was voted "Best Public Speaker" by her fellow participants. Never one to be idle, she served as a volunteer with the Pulaski County Hospice and with the Pulaski Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and was a member of the Oak Grove Primitive Baptist Church.

Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. (CT) Tuesday, at Jackson Funeral Chapel of Rensselaer. The funeral service will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, March 25, at the funeral home with Elder Thurman Ritchie officiating. Burial will follow at Richie Cemetery in Rensselaer.

Memorials may be made to the Oak Grove Primitive Baptist Church.