James Bell
004.
Born Nov. 30, 1915, in Peabody, he was the son of James B. Bell Sr. and Mabel (Russell) Bell.
On July 19, 1942, he married Emilie Overpeck in Emporia.
He served in the Army Air Corps from September 1942, to December 1945, during World War II where he was a sergeant and crew chief aboard a B-26.
He was an avid golfer and played a bass-tub, "gut bucket" with "fun bands" in Fort Collins, Colo., and Casper, Wyo.
A haberdasher, he began his career in 1945 at Bruckner's, Emporia, and Henry's of Wichita. He dressed most of the professional men and college faculty in his years at the Tennis Shop in Fort Collins, Colo.
In Casper, Wyo., at Woods for Men, he was privileged to know and dress many special customers, including Vice President Dick Cheney, past Senate Majority Leader Al Simpson, noted attorney Gerry Spence, NBC news analyst Pete Williams, governors, past governors, and many prominent sports figures.
He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Philip.
Survivors include his wife, Emilie Overpeck Bell; sister, Bette Bell Hamm of Tulsa, Okla.; a son, James B. Bell III and wife, Earlene; daughter, Lauren Jane (Bell) Matkin, all of Fort Collins, Colo.; and grandchildren.
