Connie Joy Tomlin Bell, of Kokomo, Mississippi, passed from this life into God’s presence on Sunday, August 13, 2023 at the age of 78. She was born in McCook, Nebraska to Floyd and Viola Tomlin and has been a resident of Kokomo since 1974. Connie received her undergraduate degree and her Master’s in Elementary Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. Graduating with honors, she has completed 30 hours of course work toward her PhD. Connie had a 27 year career as a K – 8th grade teacher in Louisiana. She was also a licensed cosmetologist and a greeting card artist with Hallmark. Connie served her community and her Lord through her membership with Kokomo Chapel Methodist Church where she taught young adult Sunday School and formerly served as the choir director. She was devoted to her family and helped raise most of her grandchildren. Connie will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother.
She was preceded in death by her father, Floyd Tomlin; her mother, Viola Wheeler; and a son, Stanley Eugene Bell. Connie is survived by her beloved husband of 60 years, Stuart Earl Bell, Sr.; a daughter, Susan Elizabeth Bell Copeland; two sons, Stuart Earl Bell, Jr. and his wife, Sandra and Scott Bell; her fraternal twin sister, Carol Tomlin Ogle; a brother, Ronald R. Tomlin; six grandchildren, Nathaniel Bell, Sean Copeland and his wife, Taylor, Suzanne Copeland, Niles Bell and his wife, Sarah, Zachary Bell, and Nicole Bell; and a host of nieces and nephews.
The funeral service, officiated by Doctor Ronnie Morgan, will be at Kokomo Chapel Methodist Church on Thursday, August 17, 2023 at 11:00am. Friends may visit with the family from 10:00am until service time. Burial will follow in the Kokomo Community Cemetery assisted by Stuart Bell, Jr., Scott Bell, Nathaniel Bell, Sean Copeland, Zachary Bell, James Turner, Drake McCain, and Dustin McCain serving as pallbearers