Wayne Theodore "Ted" Bell Jr.

Ocean Grove, NJ-Wayne T. “Ted” Bell, Jr., 87, of Ocean Grove, NJ, passed away peacefully on Monday, September 23, with family members by his side. He had been a resident of Manor by the Sea since July. Ted was born in 1932 to Wayne T. and Lillian Bell in Wilkes Barre, PA, and moved to Somerville, NJ, while in grade school. He graduated from Rutgers University with the BS degree (1958) and the MS degree (1968).

Commonly known around Ocean Grove as the “Town Historian,” Ted was a founding member of the Historical Society of Ocean Grove, and initiated the 1976 proposal that designated Ocean Grove as a National Historic Site. He was recognized with the annual Beersheba Award for his outstanding service to the community and was awarded Monmouth County’s 2012 Jane G. Clayton Award for “exceptional contribution to awareness, understanding and preservation of the history of Monmouth County.”

Ted was the lead author for the 2012 book The Great Auditorium: Ocean Grove’s Architectural Treasure, which traces the history and development of the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove. He also wrote Images of Ocean Grove (2000) and Ocean Grove in Vintage Postcards (2004). He served as the Curator of the Historical Society, helping home owners conduct their research on their Ocean Grove houses. This past summer, Ted concluded the “Fill the Fountain” fundraising drive and restoration project of Ocean Grove’s 1907 cast iron Fiske Fountain, in Founders Park, to celebrate the town’s 150th anniversary.

Ted married Shirley Hemphill of Ocean Grove in September 1954; she predeceased him in November 2018. They wintered in Sarasota, FL, where he was a board member of the Kingston Arms Condominium Association. He is survived by four daughters: Wendi (and husband Gary Powell, of Allentown, PA); Lynn (and husband Douglas Frashure, of Buckhannon, WV); Cindy, of Long Beach, NY; Sharon (and husband Gregor Scott of Ocean, NJ); nine grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Ted is also survived by his brothers Allen Bell and wife Dolores of Stewardsville, NJ, and Paul Bell and wife Brenda of Pottersville, NJ.

A Service of the Celebration of Life will be on Saturday, October 5, at 10:00 am at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Ocean Grove, followed by coffee and light refreshments. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to one of the following: The Founders Park Fountain Fund (c/o the Historical Society of Ocean Grove); the ‘Building a “Shore” Foundation’ Campaign of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church of Ocean Grove; or the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Neptune Cremation Society, Paramus, NJ.