THE
HOPWOOD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
HALL
OF FAME
INDUCTION
– Sunday, December 9, 2001
Jack
Horner Bell
1919
– 2000
Jack Horner Bell was born in Uniontown, PA, July 7,
1919, to Robert Patison and Edna Horner Bell.
Jack graduated from South Union High School in
1937. In September of 1941, he accepted
a position in the General accounting Office, In Washington, D.C., where he
remained for the next ten years, advancing to Auditor In Charge. In 1951, he transferred to the Department of
the Army, in Alexandria, VA. Soon
thereafter, he transferred to an accounting position with the NATO Accounting
and Auditing Office in Paris, France.
He remained there for 16 years, becoming Chief of NATO’s
Construction/Payment Agency in France, and supervising military and civilian
accounts for all 14 NATO Allies. His
position required him to evaluate highly technical French contractual documents
and to participate in high level Franco-American conferences. He was awarded two Sustained Superior
Performance Awards for having saved millions of dollars through his office’s
meticulous auditing techniques.
In 1967, NATO relocated in Benelux Nations. Jack was transferred to the Netherlands,
where he remained for seven years. He
progressed to the position of Logistics Officer of the Allied Forces Central
Europe Support Element Headquarters in Southern Holland. In 1974, after 33 years of service with the
U.S. Government, he retired to his home in Hopwood.
Since his retirement, he became noted for his
contributions and leadership in improvements and community activities.
In 1976, he launched a project to restore the Founding
Fathers Cemetery, in Hopwood, a Historic Landmark dating from 1791. IN 1991, he was appointed Grand Chairman for
Hopwood’s Bicentennial, a year-long celebration. He was President of the Hopwood Development Association, and the
Hopwood Cemetery Association, Inc.
One of the many things that Jack did for the church was
have the picture of the old church framed and it still hangs on the wall.
We will never forget Jack singing and saying “Where” as
we all answered “Down in my heart”. We
also miss Jack moaning when someone wanted to sing “Kum ba yah”.
Jack’s mother Edna Horner Bell was the first inductee
into the Hopwood United Methodist Church Hall of Fame on May 27, 1990.
Jack’s long-time friend, Bob Cook said of Jack “He
walked to the beat of a different drum, but we loved and miss him”. He always wanted Bob to sit on the “sinner’s
bench” with him and referred to him as the “old goat” and would then follow-up
with “poor Dorothy”. When Jack would
call, Bob would always have to have a copy of the bulletin and the budget so
Jack and he could go over it and discuss what was right and wrong. Jack gave Bob’s wife, Dorothy, a plate of
the Queen of England that he acquired when he was there and she greatly
treasures it.
Jack is sadly missed by all.