Genevieve May (Long) Bell

Genevieve May (Long) Bell passed away at the age of 97 years on August 9, 2021 at her daughter’s home in Pueblo, Colorado. She was born on April 27, 1924 in Longdale, Oklahoma to parents Addison Joseph Long and Dollie May (Tea) Long. She had a brother, Joseph Arthur Long, who was born four years later.

She grew up on the family farm near Longdale where the family raised most of their own food. She was part of a large extended family and was the first grandchild of Sylvanus and Annie Long and the only girl with many male cousins until at long last another girl was born. As the oldest, Genevieve was sent to keep an eye on the boys and try to keep them out of harm’s way.

She attended the small school in Longdale, a friend to all and as no surprise to anyone who knew her, occasionally got in trouble for talking in class. She enjoyed playing basketball and the art classes. Genevieve and 17 classmates graduated from Longdale High School on May 14, 1942. Her parents sacrificed to send their two children to college, and Genevieve attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It was more like a girl’s school, since most young men enlisted for World War II and few were enrolled in college. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1946.

Following graduation and with the end of WW II, Genevieve married Claude Martin Bell on June 4, 1946 and they lived briefly in Wichita, Kansas where he was born, then moved back to Longdale. Their daughter, Claudia Ann Bell, was born in nearby Fairview, Oklahoma on August 8, 1948.

When her parent’s farm was condemned for the Canton Dam, Addison, Joe, and Claude headed west to scout for farmland to lease. They found land south of Burlington, Colorado in the Smokey Hill community and formed the LBL (Long Bell Long) Ranch enterprise. Addison and Dollie, Genevieve and Claude, and Joe and his wife Pauline all moved to Colorado and farmed and ranched together for several years before splitting off to purchase their own farms and ranches. Claudia was joined by her sister, Jeanette Jeanne (Bell) Meyer on February 1, 1951 and cousins Gary and Pamela Long.

Genevieve made friends in the Smokey Hill community and was a member of its homemaker club. She taught school for a time at the rural Smokey Hill School before the family purchased a home in Burlington. Genevieve made more friends there and became a member of the First Christian Church in Burlington. She helped with vacation Bible school and was a leader for her daughters’ Girl Scout and 4-H Clubs. She enjoyed various crafts and expressed her artistic talent in painting in oils and on porcelain. Many friends and family cherish the painted china she gifted them.

She and Claude divorced on April 30, 1971. She had returned to teaching for the Burlington School District after their separation and taught there from 1968 until her retirement in 1986. She taught first grade for many years, then Chapter 1 and finally English for grades 5 and 6. She shared her positive outlook on life and made the song “Let There be Peace on Earth” her theme song, playing it for her little first grade students. After both of her daughters left home for college, Genevieve took in three foster girls, Irene, Lois, and Rose.

While teaching, a student enticed her to go out to his family farm to see his puppies. She chose a puppy, Tibby, and they were inseparable, going to the Dairy Queen for ice cream and to the park in Burlington. Tibby was a good traveler and happily made the trips back and forth to Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

Genevieve moved to the Widefield development in Colorado Springs in 1995 after her retirement from teaching and the death of her father. The large lot soon was filled with the trees, flowers, and birds Genevieve loved all her life. She wanted to be near her daughter, Claudia, of Security and her daughter, Jeanette, of Pueblo. Several years after the death of her little dog, Tibby, Genevieve got two other little dogs, Silky and Spicey. She worried she might be too old to get another dog, but she outlived them by many years.

Genevieve was preceded in death by her parents, Addison and Dollie Long, and her daughter, Claudia. She is survived by her daughter, Jeanette Meyer of Pueblo and her brother and his wife, Joe and Pauline Long of Stroud, Oklahoma, as well as cousins and nieces and nephews from both the Long and Bell families, and special friend, Gilda Dellinger and her daughter, Danielle.

Genevieve lived her life with faith in God, and with love and laughter.

A memorial service is being held on August 23, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. at Memorial Gardens in Colorado Springs. Interment of her ashes will be at Fairview Cemetery in Burlington, Colorado.