Hubert Julius Bell

Hubert J. Bell died Saturday, March 31, 2012 at age 97. He was born March 23, 1915 to Henry A. Bell and Marietta W. Bell in the Fortsonia Community, Elbert County, Georgia. He and his future wife, Alice Fortson, grew up one quarter mile apart in the Fortsonia Community. It was said that the first spark of romance between them was kindled when he hit her with a shingle he threw off the roof of his father’s barn. They were married for sixty-five years and had five children, whom he leaves behind. His wife died in 2006. He leaves a son, Hubert (“Hugh”) J. Bell, Jr. and his wife Eileen Crowley, Jane Bell Coleman and her husband John Coleman, Carolyn Schreiber, Martha Bell deBroekert and her husband Dirk, and Mary Bell Beerman and her husband Fred. He also left two granddaughters, Kelley Coleman Moon and husband Shane Moon, and Erika deBroekert, and three great-granddaughters, Kinsley, Chloe, and Claire Moon. Mr. Bell celebrated his 97th birthday last Friday on March 23. Beginning in 1952, he served thirty-two years as a rural letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. He was active in the National Association of Rural Letter Carriers, at one time serving as president of the Georgia Chapter. He was a deacon and the treasurer of Fortsonia Baptist Church for more than fifty years. He was proud of his service in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was commissioned from the Infantry Officer Candidate School as a Lieutenant. He was ordered to Europe in June 1944, just a few days after his daughter Jane was born. He landed in Cherbourg, France at D+30, and participated in fierce fighting across France, Belgium, and into Germany. He served with the 8th Infantry Division, in General Patton’s Third Army, and in December 1944 fought in the battles of the Bulge and the Hurtgen Forest, both legendary conflicts in United States military history. A few weeks later, in the battle to take the city of Cologne, he was wounded by a piece of artillery shrapnel and was evacuated to a hospital in Bonn, Germany for surgery and recuperation. Soon after his return to his unit, Germany surrendered in April 1945. After a brief stint in the Occupation Force in the Ruhr Valley in north central Germany and a short R&R trip to Paris, he was returned to the United States and discharged. The Army recognized his bravery and service, awarding him a Silver Star and a Bronze Star for heroism, and a Purple Heart for his wound, among other decorations and awards. A memorial funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at the Fortsonia Baptist Church.The church is located eight miles south of Elberton, Georgia on Hwy. 17 in the Fortsonia Community. Burial will follow in the Fortsonia Community Cemetery after the funeral service.The family will receive friends on Friday April 6, 2012 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Hicks Funeral Home. Hicks Funeral Home, Elberton, Georgia is in charge of the arrangements.