Helen O. Bell, age 91 of North Platte, passed away Wednesday July 20, 2016 at Linden Court.
Helen was born on June 2, 1925 in a log cabin near Arvada, WY to Oscar H. and Laura F. (Martin) Miner. She attended rural school and graduated from Charles School of Beauty in Denver, CO. She pursued a career in Cosmetology in Scottsbluff, NE. On July 25, 1948 she married George R. Bell in Scottsbluff and the couple moved to North Platte in 1950 where George was a conductor for the Union Pacific Railroad and she continued her work as a beautician. In 1952 they became the parents of their only child, Linda. Helen spent four years at home with her family and then in 1957 opened her own salon which she operated until 1963. In November of 1984 her husband George died of Alzheimer’s disease. In March of 1985 Helen founded the North Platte Alzheimer’s Association Support Group. It began with one meeting a month and has now grown to three. In 1997 she was a delegate to the National Advocacy Convention in Washington, DC on behalf of the Lincoln Chapter. She has been on the Speakers Bureau for the Alzheimer’s Association and traveled around speaking to various groups about the disease. She started the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk in the 1990s. She helped raise thousands of dollars for the group and in 1998 was chosen by the Chamber of Commerce as an Outstanding Woman of Achievement. She loved her friends and family, and especially enjoyed following her grandchildren through their school projects and sports, and spending time with her great grandsons. She always enjoyed gardening and tending her flowers, playing cards and reading.
Helen is survived by her daughter Linda (Steve) Johnson of North Platte; grandsons Timothy (Jessica) Johnson of Holyoke, CO and Rick Johnson of CO; great grandsons Ethan Lee and Chase Johnson of Holyoke, CO; nieces Mary Helen Kenney, Roberta Anderson and LaNora Mattern; and special friend Melissa Tuenge whom she thought of as a daughter.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband George; sister Maudie McKnight; and brother and sister-in-law Al and Wilda Miner.
Memorials are suggested to the local Alzheimer’s Support Group and online condolences may be shared at www.adamswanson.com. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday July 25, 2016 at the First Presbyterian Church with Pastor Steve Nofel officiating. Burial will precede the funeral service at North Platte Cemetery. Visitation will be 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Friday and noon until 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Adams and Swanson Funeral Home which is in charge of arrangements.