Janet Ruth Bell's Obituary
Janet Ruth Bell, age 97, of Spring Lake, MI and formerly of Midland, MI, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend, passed away on November 14, 2025. She was born in Salem, Oregon on August 21, 1928, to Carl and Lydia Ruth (Liening) Miller. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Oregon State University. On November 24, 1950, she married Paul E. Bell in Salem, Oregon. He preceded her in death on July 21, 2022.
Janet is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, David and Michele Bell; her three grandsons Thomas (Courtney Brown), James (Alexis Yezbick), and Michael Bell; her great grandson Theo Bell; her brother-in-law Earnest Bell; her sisters-in-law Winifred Payne and Katherine Bell; and several nieces and nephews.
Janet is preceded in death by her parents Carl and Lydia Ruth Miller, her sister-in-law Connie Bell and her brothers-in-law Gordon Bell and Charles Payne.
Janet was highly skilled throughout her life at academics, teaching, working administratively in a variety of private company, higher education, and religious organizations, and she was expert at leading projects and planning and seeing through events in her career in professional publications and administration, as well as in philanthropic affiliations. She had high standards for quality in all that she did, and she inspired others to produce excellent outcomes while maintaining positive relationships. Before marrying her husband Paul and before he became an accomplished professor at Penn State University, she played a crucial role in helping him to learn how to study and excel in academics when he had been struggling as an undergraduate student. Her abilities were exceptional in teaching technical and language arts subjects. She was proficient in music and other creative endeavors, including all forms of hand work like knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, and designing and making clothing and other fabric-based articles. Choral singing was important for Janet throughout her life, and her strong alto voice was an integral part of a variety of church choirs over more than six decades. Even well into her nineties, she recalled by heart the lyrics to nearly every song performed at instrumental and voice performances that she attended. She was masterful at the piano, and her singing voice was always a joy to hear.
Janet was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in State College, PA, and she was a former Alpha Xi Delta Sorority president while at Oregon State University.
While working in technical publications at an engineering firm in Pennsylvania, she was granted increasingly advanced security standings until she had attained the highest civilian level of security status granted by the federal government. Only she and the CEO of the company were privy to strategic information regarding some of the firm’s government contract projects.
In addition to being a beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend to many wherever she lived, Janet was a wonderful educator, planner, organizer, project leader, and contributor to her churches and communities, and she led a happy, loving, family-oriented, and satisfying life. She will be greatly missed.
A private service will be held at Fort Custer National Cemetery. Memorial contributions in memory of Janet may be given to hospice organizations. Please sign the family’s online guestbook at https://www.sytsemafh.com.
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