James Wyndall Bell

Mr. James Wyndall Bell, age 75, died on January 20, 2021 in Mobile, AL. He was born in 1945 in Mobile.

He attended Westlawn Elementary, Phillips Preparatory School and was a 1963 graduate of Murphy High School in Mobile. He went onto attend and graduate from Birmingham Southern College with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1967, where he a member of the Panthers baseball team, Sigma Alpha Epsilon (Alabama Iota) fraternity and the Southern Singers male chorus group, traveling around the southeast performing. He was married to Elizabeth Spottswood Bell from 1968 until her recent passing in August 2020.

Mr. Bell attended seminary at Emory University in Decatur, GA, graduating with a Master’s of Theology in 1971. During seminary, he coached youth sports and worked at the local YMCA, working with children. He was ordained and became a young adult and youth minister servicing United Methodist churches in the states of Texas and Alabama. He was a strong Auburn fan, youth sports coach, and also involved in many recreational sports himself, including golf, softball and basketball.

In 1985, he formed a successful financial services and insurance brokerage business with his friend Bob Branch (Branch, Bell and Associates), where he worked to serve his clients until his retirement in 2017. All along, he continued to serve the Dauphin Way United Methodist congregation through teaching, weddings, counsel, and various committees. He formed a men’s group at Dauphin Way called Grits and Grace, where his friends and colleagues would eat breakfast weekly and discuss needs in the church and community and how they could help them. He was very involved in the Mobile Inner City Mission, having helped create an annual golf fundraiser for the organization, raising money for the service needs. He was a compassionate and involved Christian with a passion for teaching all ages about the Bible.

He is survived by his, son Christopher W. (Mary Ravine) Bell of Birmingham and daughter Barclay (David) Avant of Auburn. He was the very proud grandfather of McLean Bell, Gage Bell, Sutton Smith, Jackson Smith, and Manning Smith, Mackenzie Avant and Brooke Avant. He is survived by a sister Julie Carter (Corky) of Dadeville, AL and numerous cousins and extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jules Wilson Bell and Eloise Vinson Bell.

Due to Covid-19 health issues, the family is planning a celebration of life service to be held at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church at a later date. Details on how this will be managed will be available soon.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests those interested make any contributions United Methodist Foundation, Mobile United Methodist Inner City Endowment Program, Elizabeth S Bell Scholarship Fund. P.O. Box 8066, Dothan, AL 36304. Condolences may be offered at www.radneyfuneralhome-mobile.com.