Submitted by: Dan Rich

Wayne Keith Bell

Nov. 30, 1932 - July 27, 2008

South Bend Tribune 7/31/2008
SOUTH BEND - Wayne Keith Bell, 75, passed away quietly on Sunday, July 27, while taking his usual afternoon nap. He was a small town boy, who was born to Ethel (Baker) and William Wesley Bell on Nov. 30, 1932, and was raised in Attica, IN. He married Rosalyn Patterson in October 1956, who preceded him in death on May 23, 2006. Together they raised four children, Jo Ann, Danny, Kenny and Rodney in their modest home on McKinley Terrace, all of whom survive. Wayne was a grandfather to six children. Wayne and Rosalyn met while he was serving his country in the Marine Corps. A Korean War vet, Dad spent three years as a radio operator and the remaining two-and-a-half playing basketball and boxing in a Marine Corps League. He won a championship boxing title in 1954 in the lightweight division, leaving the service only due to a severe head injury that landed him in a hospital for two months before being honorably discharged. Shortly after he met Rosalyn and the two of them finally settled in South Bend in 1966. Dad retired from Bendix in the late 1980s. Known to hundreds of friends and acquaintances as "Uncle Wayne," he loved to have "kitchen table" chats, talk war stories, and spin yarns about ghosts or UFOs. He was quite a character, as his friends at the "Snuggery" (Palm Beach Gardens) and his favorite corner pub "Moondogs" will attest.

A regular fixture there, after his wife's passing, he earned the nickname of "Florida Slim" or "Indiana Slim," implying he had a slim chance of beating his opponents at pool. Wayne's heart was as big as the Mississippi is wide. He would welcome anyone in need at any time into his home. He was a simple man in the sense that material wealth meant nothing; success and happiness are measured in friendships and the love of family. Kitchen table chats, barbecues, pool, cards, nature and all creatures in it, morel hunting and drawing were some of the many things he enjoyed in life. That joy faded, though, when his beloved Rosalyn passed. Dad had lived a good, full life for which his family is grateful and we count our many blessings. One of ten children, he's gone to join his wife, parents, and his sisters, Myrtle, Virginia, Thelma and Rose. His brothers, Ed, Bill, Cossie and John all await his arrival with loving, open arms. His one surviving sister, Mavis Carney, still resides in that small town, Attica, a town that has produced some of the finest, kindest people in all of Indiana. God be with you DAD -- rest in peace our beloved Wayne. Your loving memory will endure forever in our hearts. In lieu of flowers, Wayne's wish was donations be made to St. Joseph County Hospice or to the St. Joseph County Humane Society.

There are no immediate services or visitation. Wayne and Rose will be laid to rest together with memorial services at a later date. Palmer Funeral Home, Guisinger Chapel, is assisting the family with future arrangements.