A memorial to

Donald R. Bell (1925 – 2001)

Donald Raymond Bell was born to Presbyterian missionary parents Roy and Edna Elliot Bell in Dumaguete City, the Philippines, in 1925. During the Japanese occupation, the family lived in hiding for two years in the Philippine jungle, where his father acted as a leader of the resistance movement. After the war, Donald graduated from Wooster College in Ohio, and subsequently completed post-graduate studies at Johns Hopkins and the London School of Economics. While in London, he became engaged to his future wife Aili Rytkonen. They were married in 1961, in Pakistan, where Don worked as a missionary teacher at Gordon College for three years.

After returning to the States, the family settled in Northern Virginia. Don worked for the U.S. Department of Labor until his retirement in 1988 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Long-time residents of Alexandria, Virginia, Don there served as a deacon and elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church, where he was active on the missions committee and in homeless ministry. He and wife Aili moved to Chapel Hill in April of 2000, and became members of University Presbyterian Church.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Kenneth, in 1974, and is survived by his wife Aili, son Risto (and daughter-in-law Donna Chen) of San Jose, CA, daughter Maija Samei (and son-in-law Ehsan Samei) of Chapel Hill, and granddaughter Mina Samei. After an extended hospital stay, Donald died at home on March 1, 2001, surrounded by his family. He was 75 years old. His ashes were interred on March 6, 2001 in the memorial garden of the University Presbyterian Church, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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Memorial gifts may be given to the scholarship fund Don established in memory of his parents, the Edna and Roy Bell Scholarship Fund of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, 475 Riverside Dr, Suite 1221, New York, NY 10115.