Joyce Dillavou Bell
Muncie - Joyce Dillavou Bell, 83, former Executive Producer of "Front Row Center", and Ball State University Vocal Instructor, passed away at her home in Muncie, on Wednesday, August 14, 2019, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Married for 61 years, she died just months after her husband, former ABC News anchor and reporter Steve Bell (12/9/1935 - 1/25/2019). Born to Friends Church Pastor Robert Wade Dillavou and Luella Stanley Dillavou in Salem, Iowa (8/21/1935), Joyce worked for eight years as Executive Producer of the music review program "Front Row, Center" for WIPB-TV in Muncie. She was also a vocal music instructor in the Ball State University School of Music from 1993 to 2000. An accomplished singer and pianist, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from William Penn College (now University) in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and her Master of Arts in Music from The George Washington University School of Music in Washington, D.C.
At age 35, Joyce took her two young daughters to Hong Kong while husband Steve reported from Saigon on the Vietnam War for ABC News, both in radio and television. After moving to Atlanta in 1972, she sang with the esteemed choral conductor Robert Shaw when he was with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The Bells moved to Washington D.C. in 1974 where Joyce raised their daughters, taught piano and completed her master's degree while Steve covered the White House and anchored ABC's Good Morning America. They moved to Muncie in 1992 when Steve became the first Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Chair in Telecommunications.
During her 25 years in Muncie, Joyce served as an active member of Psi Iota Xi, the Arts League, the Beta Omega Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon Fraternity, and as a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Inc., promoting high standards in vocal music education.
She is survived by daughters, Allison K. Bell (husband Cesar Genders) and Hilary A. Borlack (husband Scott Borlack), and six grandchildren: Geoffrey Politinsky, Samantha Politinsky, Sean Borlack, Daniel Genders, Troi Genders and Riley Bates Genders.
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, September 21, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 1400 W. Riverside Avenue in Muncie.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to The George Washington University Dept. of Music, 801 22nd Street, NW, Rm. B144, Washington, DC 20052, National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 1848, Longmont, CO 80502, or the Steve Bell Memorial Scholarship for Ethics in News Reporting, Ball State University, Fund Number 7413, 2800 Bethel Ave., Muncie, IN 47304.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.meeksmortuary.com
Published in The Star Press on Sept. 15, 2019
Muncie - Joyce Dillavou Bell, 83, former Executive Producer of "Front Row Center", and Ball State University Vocal Instructor, passed away at her home in Muncie, on Wednesday, August 14, 2019, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Married for 61 years, she died just months after her husband, former ABC News anchor and reporter Steve Bell (12/9/1935 - 1/25/2019). Born to Friends Church Pastor Robert Wade Dillavou and Luella Stanley Dillavou in Salem, Iowa (8/21/1935), Joyce worked for eight years as Executive Producer of the music review program "Front Row, Center" for WIPB-TV in Muncie. She was also a vocal music instructor in the Ball State University School of Music from 1993 to 2000. An accomplished singer and pianist, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from William Penn College (now University) in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and her Master of Arts in Music from The George Washington University School of Music in Washington, D.C.
At age 35, Joyce took her two young daughters to Hong Kong while husband Steve reported from Saigon on the Vietnam War for ABC News, both in radio and television. After moving to Atlanta in 1972, she sang with the esteemed choral conductor Robert Shaw when he was with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The Bells moved to Washington D.C. in 1974 where Joyce raised their daughters, taught piano and completed her master's degree while Steve covered the White House and anchored ABC's Good Morning America. They moved to Muncie in 1992 when Steve became the first Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Chair in Telecommunications.
During her 25 years in Muncie, Joyce served as an active member of Psi Iota Xi, the Arts League, the Beta Omega Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon Fraternity, and as a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Inc., promoting high standards in vocal music education.
She is survived by daughters, Allison K. Bell (husband Cesar Genders) and Hilary A. Borlack (husband Scott Borlack), and six grandchildren: Geoffrey Politinsky, Samantha Politinsky, Sean Borlack, Daniel Genders, Troi Genders and Riley Bates Genders.
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, September 21, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 1400 W. Riverside Avenue in Muncie.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to The George Washington University Dept. of Music, 801 22nd Street, NW, Rm. B144, Washington, DC 20052, National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 1848, Longmont, CO 80502, or the Steve Bell Memorial Scholarship for Ethics in News Reporting, Ball State University, Fund Number 7413, 2800 Bethel Ave., Muncie, IN 47304.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.meeksmortuary.com
Published in The Star Press on Sept. 15, 2019
Joyce Dillavou Bell
Muncie - Joyce Dillavou Bell, 83, former Executive Producer of "Front Row Center", and Ball State University Vocal Instructor, passed away at her home in Muncie, on Wednesday, August 14, 2019, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Married for 61 years, she died just months after her husband, former ABC News anchor and reporter Steve Bell (12/9/1935 - 1/25/2019). Born to Friends Church Pastor Robert Wade Dillavou and Luella Stanley Dillavou in Salem, Iowa (8/21/1935), Joyce worked for eight years as Executive Producer of the music review program "Front Row, Center" for WIPB-TV in Muncie. She was also a vocal music instructor in the Ball State University School of Music from 1993 to 2000. An accomplished singer and pianist, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from William Penn College (now University) in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and her Master of Arts in Music from The George Washington University School of Music in Washington, D.C.
At age 35, Joyce took her two young daughters to Hong Kong while husband Steve reported from Saigon on the Vietnam War for ABC News, both in radio and television. After moving to Atlanta in 1972, she sang with the esteemed choral conductor Robert Shaw when he was with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The Bells moved to Washington D.C. in 1974 where Joyce raised their daughters, taught piano and completed her master's degree while Steve covered the White House and anchored ABC's Good Morning America. They moved to Muncie in 1992 when Steve became the first Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Chair in Telecommunications.
During her 25 years in Muncie, Joyce served as an active member of Psi Iota Xi, the Arts League, the Beta Omega Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon Fraternity, and as a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Inc., promoting high standards in vocal music education.
She is survived by daughters, Allison K. Bell (husband Cesar Genders) and Hilary A. Borlack (husband Scott Borlack), and six grandchildren: Geoffrey Politinsky, Samantha Politinsky, Sean Borlack, Daniel Genders, Troi Genders and Riley Bates Genders.
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, September 21, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 1400 W. Riverside Avenue in Muncie.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to The George Washington University Dept. of Music, 801 22nd Street, NW, Rm. B144, Washington, DC 20052, National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 1848, Longmont, CO 80502, or the Steve Bell Memorial Scholarship for Ethics in News Reporting, Ball State University, Fund Number 7413, 2800 Bethel Ave., Muncie, IN 47304.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.meeksmortuary.com
Published in The Star Press on Sept. 15, 2019
Muncie - Joyce Dillavou Bell, 83, former Executive Producer of "Front Row Center", and Ball State University Vocal Instructor, passed away at her home in Muncie, on Wednesday, August 14, 2019, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Married for 61 years, she died just months after her husband, former ABC News anchor and reporter Steve Bell (12/9/1935 - 1/25/2019). Born to Friends Church Pastor Robert Wade Dillavou and Luella Stanley Dillavou in Salem, Iowa (8/21/1935), Joyce worked for eight years as Executive Producer of the music review program "Front Row, Center" for WIPB-TV in Muncie. She was also a vocal music instructor in the Ball State University School of Music from 1993 to 2000. An accomplished singer and pianist, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from William Penn College (now University) in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and her Master of Arts in Music from The George Washington University School of Music in Washington, D.C.
At age 35, Joyce took her two young daughters to Hong Kong while husband Steve reported from Saigon on the Vietnam War for ABC News, both in radio and television. After moving to Atlanta in 1972, she sang with the esteemed choral conductor Robert Shaw when he was with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The Bells moved to Washington D.C. in 1974 where Joyce raised their daughters, taught piano and completed her master's degree while Steve covered the White House and anchored ABC's Good Morning America. They moved to Muncie in 1992 when Steve became the first Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Chair in Telecommunications.
During her 25 years in Muncie, Joyce served as an active member of Psi Iota Xi, the Arts League, the Beta Omega Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon Fraternity, and as a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Inc., promoting high standards in vocal music education.
She is survived by daughters, Allison K. Bell (husband Cesar Genders) and Hilary A. Borlack (husband Scott Borlack), and six grandchildren: Geoffrey Politinsky, Samantha Politinsky, Sean Borlack, Daniel Genders, Troi Genders and Riley Bates Genders.
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, September 21, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 1400 W. Riverside Avenue in Muncie.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to The George Washington University Dept. of Music, 801 22nd Street, NW, Rm. B144, Washington, DC 20052, National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 1848, Longmont, CO 80502, or the Steve Bell Memorial Scholarship for Ethics in News Reporting, Ball State University, Fund Number 7413, 2800 Bethel Ave., Muncie, IN 47304.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.meeksmortuary.com
Published in The Star Press on Sept. 15, 2019
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