Clyde E. Bell, 86, of Ezzell, passed away July 16, 2014. He was born on May 23, 1928 to Wayne & Celeile Dobbs Bell in San Antonio, TX. He married Martha Choate on Dec. 1, 1951 in Springfield, TN. He was a veteran of WWII. He was a member of the V.F.W., Boiler Marker (ship building) Union, and Church of Christ of Ezzell.

Clyde served in the US Army, in the 101st Airborne. As part of the Japan Occupation Forces he was put ashore with about 300 other soldiers at an abandoned navy base near Nagasaki, just a few weeks after the atomic bomb had been dropped there. Following that deployment, he trained recruits preparing for the Korean Conflict as paratroopers. It required 5 jumps to be certified as a paratrooper at that time. But he had to jump every time he took a group of trainees up… 119 jumps in all.

Following the war he worked for a while in Tennessee, where he met and married Martha Louise Choate. They moved to Houston, looking for work. Clyde was determined to follow his mother's advice and get a job with a pension. In pursuit of that, he worked as a car knocker for the railroad, built boilers in a shipyard (even joined the Boilermaker's Union), built communication towers and eventually got hired by the Houston Fire Department. He was a Houston fireman for 27 years, and served in fire houses all over Houston, including the ship channel. That is a whole other body of stories.

After 20 years, he retired from HFD and he and Louise moved to Ezzell, where they cleared their place and converted a deer camp to a modest home and joined a church. They grew a garden and raised some cattle, made wonderful friends, played Bingo, attended all the fund raising dinners they could, risked large quantities of quarters at cake walks, worked the hardest and enjoyed the happiest 36 years of their lives.

Clyde Bell was a hard working, fun loving man who enjoyed a good game of dominoes, a lively argument, and a cold beer. He told a good story, never met a stranger, and drove a hard bargain. He liked kids and he called little boys Bubba and little girls Sugar. He loved fish – catching, cooking and eating fish.

Clyde worked hard, laughed a lot, and helped out wherever he could. He was proud to be able to say he never accepted a penny for helping anyone after he retired. His friendship was cherished by many. He will be greatly missed, and there will never be another like him.

Clyde is survived by: brother Wayne P. Bell of Hattiesburg, MS; 2 sisters, Helen Erickson of San Marcos, TX, and Marie Bell & husband Jim Anderson of Conroe, TX; nieces, Rachael Erickson of San Marcos, Wanda Wright & husband John of Ezzell, and Patsy Makovy; and nephews Wallace Bell & wife Amy of Corpus Christi, TX, and Jim Ventress.

Clyde was preceded in death by: his wife Martha; parents; and 2 brothers, Thomas P. Bell, and Wallace C. Bell.

Funeral Service: 2 pm Saturday, July 19, 2014, at Kubena Funeral Home in Hallettsville. Visitation: 4 pm, Friday, at Kubena Funeral Home. Officiant: Rev. Mike Ezzell. Pallbearers: Steve Choate, Wade Perry, Tom Bell, Douglas Wayne Havemann, Chad Havemann, Mark Gilbert, Anton Henneke, and Clinton Henneke. Honorary Pallbearers: Tony DeBord, Robert Erickson, Joe Gerlich, Joe Herman, Lester Kovarik, Michael Makovy, Kollis Mark, Larry Perry, Ed Schaible, John Wright, Carl Easley, and R.C. Hall. Burial: Salem Cemetery of Ezzell. Memorials: Church of Christ of Ezzell.