Raymond Herbert Bell
As written by his daughter, Irma Rhoads
Raymond Herbert Bell was born in Revillo County, South Dakota. He came to Montana in 1907, living south of Wolf Point on a farm while he grew up. He served in the U.S. Army, beginning in 1918, during WWI. After the war, he came back home to Wolf Point to the family farm. On September 20, 1932, he married my mother, Marie Pehan. They went to Fort Peck where Ray worked at the dam during its construction. They homesteaded in Glentana where they purchased a farm and had three children: Lawarence, Loretta and Irma.
On September 26, 1953, Ray and his son went to help a neighbor thresh. That evening, after supper, on their way home, they were involved in a car accident in northern Valley County near the Canadian border. There were four people in their car traveling on a gravel road. There was one rut and when they crested the hill they met a pickup which was also in the same rut. The vehicles sideswiped each other. Both Ray and Lawarence were thrown out of the car and it rolled on them, pinning them under. Ray suffered a broken back and neck alone with other injuries. Since it happened in such a remote area, it took several hours for help to arrive and take them to the nearest hospital at Glasgow. Upon arriving at Glasgow, a train blocked the main crossing and they had to wait another hour. The underpass was under construction at that time. By the time they got to the hospital, Ray had died. My brother had severe injuries and was in the hospital for nine months.
I was Daddy's girl and he spoiled me. It was quite a shock to me, at age eight, to have him go to work one day and never come home. I remember him as a gentle, soft-spoken man who loved horses, liked to play cards and dance. We never had a lot of material things but I felt we were rich in other ways and I never went to bed hungry!
Ray was a member of the Knights of Columbus in the Catholic Church and the American Legion. He is buried at the Highland Cemetery in Glasgow.
July 16, 1895 -
September 26, 1953