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Verna Annette <I>Mclean</I> Bell

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Verna Annette Mclean Bell

Birth
Silver Creek, Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, British Columbia, Canada
Death
25 Jul 2015 (aged 79)
Salmon Arm, Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, British Columbia, Canada
Burial
Cremated Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
After a long and valiant struggle with metastatic breast cancer, beloved mother, sister, aunt and grandmother, Verna Bell, passed on July 25th, 2015. How do you sum up the life of someone as special as Verna? You can't really – it would take 79 years, but it would begin with her birth in Silver Creek on July 8th, 1936. Verna Annette McLean was the 2nd daughter of Vancil and Myrtle McLean. The McLeans were one of the first families to settle in Silver Creek, where Verna and her two sisters, Beula ) and Eileen , grew up.
Verna married Marvin Crocker in 1955 and over the next 3 years gave birth to three children, Karen and twins Lance and Lorne. Eventually settling in Williams Lake, BC, they adopted 5 more children, Ida, Veasey, Scott, Craig and Lacey . Verna ran a receiving home in Williams Lake, contracting for the Ministry of Social Services. In that time she fostered well over 200 temporary foster children. In 1974 the family moved to Yellowknife, N.W.T. where Verna, a supermom, ran a daycare, worked a night job, In 1979, she moved her still-at-home children back down to Silver Creek, where she eventually adopted one more child, Caryn . Verna worked very hard to support her family as a now single parent, and as well, to watch out for her mother Myrtle McLean.
As her children grew up and eventually left home, Verna made room for a new partner in her life, marrying Robert Bell in 1995. The two travelled extensively. In 1998 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Thankfully the cancer went into remission, much to the relief of her family and friends, and by 2006 she was immersed in building a new house on the McLean property in Silver Creek. In 2009 Robert passed away in Victoria, BC.
In 2011, the dragon cancer returned, metastasizing into lung and eventually bone cancer. With the help of a compassionate medical system and of family, Verna lived comfortably and actively with the disease, until a recent turn and relatively rapid decline. Verna Bell was a wonderful and generous person with many friends. For the last six years one of her passions was to collect, clean and dress dolls and put together toy packages for children at overseas missions. She was proud of the fact that she had sent over 5000 dolls and countless books and other toys to children who needed them. . We will always love you Verna Annette.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Salmon Arm Seventh Day Adventist Church: 3270 60th Ave NE | Monday, August 3rd | 11 am. Arrangements are in the care of Bowers Funeral Home and Crematorium, Salmon Arm.
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
After a long and valiant struggle with metastatic breast cancer, beloved mother, sister, aunt and grandmother, Verna Bell, passed on July 25th, 2015. How do you sum up the life of someone as special as Verna? You can't really – it would take 79 years, but it would begin with her birth in Silver Creek on July 8th, 1936. Verna Annette McLean was the 2nd daughter of Vancil and Myrtle McLean. The McLeans were one of the first families to settle in Silver Creek, where Verna and her two sisters, Beula ) and Eileen , grew up.
Verna married Marvin Crocker in 1955 and over the next 3 years gave birth to three children, Karen and twins Lance and Lorne. Eventually settling in Williams Lake, BC, they adopted 5 more children, Ida, Veasey, Scott, Craig and Lacey . Verna ran a receiving home in Williams Lake, contracting for the Ministry of Social Services. In that time she fostered well over 200 temporary foster children. In 1974 the family moved to Yellowknife, N.W.T. where Verna, a supermom, ran a daycare, worked a night job, In 1979, she moved her still-at-home children back down to Silver Creek, where she eventually adopted one more child, Caryn . Verna worked very hard to support her family as a now single parent, and as well, to watch out for her mother Myrtle McLean.
As her children grew up and eventually left home, Verna made room for a new partner in her life, marrying Robert Bell in 1995. The two travelled extensively. In 1998 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Thankfully the cancer went into remission, much to the relief of her family and friends, and by 2006 she was immersed in building a new house on the McLean property in Silver Creek. In 2009 Robert passed away in Victoria, BC.
In 2011, the dragon cancer returned, metastasizing into lung and eventually bone cancer. With the help of a compassionate medical system and of family, Verna lived comfortably and actively with the disease, until a recent turn and relatively rapid decline. Verna Bell was a wonderful and generous person with many friends. For the last six years one of her passions was to collect, clean and dress dolls and put together toy packages for children at overseas missions. She was proud of the fact that she had sent over 5000 dolls and countless books and other toys to children who needed them. . We will always love you Verna Annette.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Salmon Arm Seventh Day Adventist Church: 3270 60th Ave NE | Monday, August 3rd | 11 am. Arrangements are in the care of Bowers Funeral Home and Crematorium, Salmon Arm.


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