Geraldine Alberta Bell

Geraldine was a parishioner at St. Teresa Catholic Church in Belleville, Illinois. She loved to fish and square dance with her late husband, Lawrence. As a teenager she worked for the Martha Manning Dress Factory in Collinsville, Illinois and she also worked in the kitchen at the St. Henry Seminary, in Belleville, Illinois. She was a phenomenal cook, whose desserts were loved by family and friends, alike. Her nighty night and peanut butter cookies were a little slice of Heaven on earth. She also made fabulous jellies and preserves. She was a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and sister, who will truly be missed by all who knew her.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence J. Bell; her parents, Richard and Edna, nee Zobrist, Rutz, Sr.; her siblings, Violet Aldhart, June Lee, Glenda Rutz, in infancy, and Richard Ruts, Jr.

Surviving are her loving daughters, Barbara (David) Bowman, of Belleville, Illinois, Dorothy (Lane) Gilbert, of Thomasville, North Carolina, Carol (Donald) Brown, of Freeburg, Illinois; her grandchildren, Brian (Gretchen) Bowman, Debra Bowman, Jessie (Tammy) Gilbert, Jena (Roger, Jr.) Williams, Curt (Tanya) Brown, and Jonathan (Erica) Brown; great grandchildren, Blake, Ryan, Danielle, Dane, Adam, Jacob, Piper, and Kylie; her two sisters, Vivian Huisman and Patricia Maschhoff; a brother-in-law, Edward Bell; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude to the staff and caregivers at Sycamore Village in Swansea, Illinois and to the staff with Vitas Hospice in Fairview Heights, Illinois

Memorials are appreciated to the Alzheimer’s Association. Condolences may also be expressed online at www.lakeviewfuneralhm.com.

Visitation: Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday, April 7, 2015, at Lake View Funeral Home, Fairview Heights, Illinois.

Funeral: Services will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, April 8, 2016 at the funeral home. Interment will be held privately in Lake View Memorial Gardens, Fairview Heights, Illinois.