Obituary of Terry Dee Bell

Terry Dee Bell was born in Durant, Oklahoma on May 31, 1955 to Hazel Jean and Gerald Dee Bell. He was the oldest son, the middle child, the little brother to 2 older sisters, Kathy and Margie,and the big brother to 2 younger brothers, Tommy and Bob. He passed away at the age of 61 years and 3 months, on August 31, 2016. Memorial Service: 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 at Feragne Villa, 755 Mid Cities Blvd., Hurst, TX. Terry started life on a dairy farm but moved to Artesia, New Mexico when he was about 3 years old where his 2 younger brothers, Tommy and Bobby, were born. He loved tinkering even then and bore the malformed thumbnail the rest of his life from an early and unsupervised encounter with his dad's tools. He was almost 8 when the family moved back to Oklahoma, again to a dairy farm and ranch, and he could be found either out playing with his 5 younger male cousins and brothers or out with his Dad, working on machinery. By the time he was 10, he was driving a tractor and helping in the fields. He could even run the finicky John Deere hay baler by the time he was 14 or 15. Terry also helped in the dairy but he loved best being in the fields and farming. Terry moved with his family to Wichita Falls in 1972 where he graduated S.H.Rider high school in 1973 and attended Midwestern University before he joined the Navy in 1975. During his tour in the Navy he served in ASW Squadron, VP-22. Terry had Advanced Avionics training in the Navy where he was Shop Supervisor and In Flight Tech on P3-B aircraft. He cross trained while there to also be Radio Operator and was an instructor of both positions and able to qualify squadron personnel. His nickname was Tinker. His home base was Hawaii and he found the Texas winters to be colder than he had remembered when he returned in 1981. After returning to Texas, Terry worked in a variety of technical positions, earning his HVAC license in the 80s and helping his Dad operate a large AC and appliance repair business. Afterward he worked as calibration tech, installation tech, project manager, senior service specialist and programer, having taught himself JAVA and C++ and other code languages as needed. He moved up in the building automation business and has many friends across several companies. Terry is survived by his son, Joshua Alexander Bell, his Dad, Gerald Dee Bell, 2 sisters, 2 brothers, and many nieces and nephews.