JANE F. GALBRAITH BELL

Emporia Dateline Jane F. Galbraith Bell, age 87, of Emporia, Kansas, formerly of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, died Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at Presbyterian Manor in Emporia, Kansas. A celebration of life memorial service will be held Thursday, July 3, 2008, at 2:00 P.M., at the First Presbyterian Church, USA, in Cottonwood Falls with The Rev. Pat Ireland officiating. The family will greet friends and family immediately following the service in the church basement. Mrs. Bell donated her body to the University of Kansas Medical School to be used for education. Inurnment, in Miller Cemetery, will be held at a later date. Jane F. Galbraith was born December 6, 1920, in Herington, Kansas, to Thomas Claude and Emma Thompson Galbraith. She attended Kansas State University, from 1938 until 1941, majoring in Home Economics and Nursing. She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority while at KSU. In 1941, she attended K.U. Medical Center School of Nursing in Kansas City, Kansas. In 1942, she went to work for Trans World Airlines as a stewardess, flying from Kansas City to New York. She and James Bell, Jr. were married on October 3, 1942, at Craig Field chapel in Selma, Alabama. In 1945, they moved to Cottonwood Falls, where her husband joined his father in running the store, Jim Bell and Son. They were active in their church, scouting, and many civic groups. She was initiated into BZ chapter of P.O.E. in Chase County in 1939 and transferred her membership to the FN chapter in Mission, Kansas, when she moved to Lenexa In 1978, Mrs. Bell entered Newman Nursing School in Emporia, graduating with honors in 1981. She was Director of Nursing at the Chase County Nursing Center until 1984. She lived in the Cottonwood Falls area until 1984, when she moved to Lakeview Village in Lenexa, Kansas. She moved to Presbyterian Manor in Emporia in November of 2007. While living in Lenexa, she was awarded a Community Service Award by the city in 1989. She worked as a volunteer for many years for Meals on Wheels and was in the original group of volunteers at the Cultural Education Center at Johnson County College. She sang in the Shawnee Mission Women’s Chorale and her church choir. In 1989, she went on a medical mission for 10 days to the mountain village of Tatoxcac, Mexico, with the United Methodist Missions group. She was awarded the 1994 Volunteer Award at Lakeview Village. Her many hobbies included enjoying her grand- and great grandchildren, music, dancing, bridge, and travel. She is survived by three sons: Thomas Bell, Joseph Bell, and Robert Bell of Cottonwood Falls and their wives, Mary Helen, June, and Shawna; seven grandchildren: Tammi DeWeese of Emporia, Candi Sturdy of Lyndon, Emma Linn of Emporia, Zach Bell of McPherson, Jeremy, Jessica, and James Bell of Cottonwood Falls; four great grandchildren: Kacey and Karsen DeWeese of Emporia, and Teagan and Jensen Sturdy of Lyndon. She is preceded in death by her father in 1922, her brother, T.C. Galbraith in 1943, a son, Richard, "Dickie" in 1977, her husband in 1978, and her mother, Emma Galbraith in 1988. Messages to the family may be sent to www.brown-bennett-alexander.com. Memorial contributions to the Cottonwood Falls First Presbyterian Church, USA and the Lakeview Village Foundation may be sent in care of the Brown-Bennett-Alexander Funeral Home, 201 Cherry, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas 66845.

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