Shirley M. Bell

Shirley Mae (Webster) Bell, 76 of Kearney, NE left her earthly body Tuesday February 18, 2020 at CHI Health Good Samaritan in Kearney. Memorial services will 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 22, 2020 at O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home in Kearney with Pastor Dean Pofahl officiating. Inurnment will be held at a later date. The family will receive friends 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. She was born July 24, 1943 in Seattle Washington to Harold and Sue (Burton) Webster. In 1945 the family moved back to Nebraska, to a farm near Gibbon. She dearly loved her early years on the farm, growing up with her sister Valda and all of her cousins and going to country school at District 75. She went to high school in Gibbon, graduating with the class of 1961. In 1962 she married Roger Myers in Gibbon and they had four children, Beth, Elaine, Dean and Beckie. They later divorced. In 1980 she married Corky Bell and they had two children, Craig and Crystal. The family moved to rural Pleasanton where they lived until his health initiated a move to Kearney. Shirley lovingly cared for Corky for several years as his health declined. He died in 2012. Shirley was a spitfire, fluent in sarcasm and irony. Proverbs, sayings, puns and one liners were her forte. She never met a stranger and thanks to social media, she met many. She dearly loved her “friends” she met playing games online, and she would be madder than a hornet when the internet didn’t cooperate. Shirley worked at a variety of jobs over the years. She would be the first to tell you that she did a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing, but over the last 30 years being a grandma has been her biggest job. She was always there to help, watch, play, craft, guilt, shake her finger, paddle and scold. She did it all for her 7 bigs, 7 littles and 2 greats. Left to cherish her memory are her children, Beth Carr (Kevin Griffis) of Kearney, Elaine (Larry) Behrendt of Ravenna, Beckie (Todd) King of Wood River, Craig Bell (Ginny Compton) of Kearney, Crystal (Ryan) Pfeil of Hastings; grandchildren, Bradley (Cynthia) Carr, Tyler Carr (Heather McGraw), Samone, Shelby, Dexter, and Delaney Behrendt, Kaitlyn (Corey) Ash, Karys and Lauryn Kouba, Ashton Stogdill, Haidan Rivera, Maecie, Harper and Blakely Pfeil; great granddaughters, Rylee and Emersyn Ash; and her sister Valda (Randy) Kreie of Boston, MA. She was preceded in death by her husband Corky; her son, Dean Myers; parents, Harold and Sue Webster; and infant brothers, Larry and Dale. In Lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the family for future designation. Condolences or personal reflections may be shared online at www.osrfh.com. Services are entrusted to O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services.

Shirley M. Bell

July 24, 1943 - February 18, 2020