Obituary of Vickye Jo Bell

Vickye Jo Millard Bell, born on January 29, 1943, spent her childhood in Lewiston, Idaho. She graduated from Lewiston High School in 1961 after attending College Elementary Grade School, which was just a few blocks from her home. Vickye Jo earned the playful nickname "Vic Tardy" due to her habit of arriving after the bell almost daily.

Tragically, she lost her beloved father in 1951 when she was just 8 years old, which prompted her to assist her mother, Elve, at L&M Glass & Paint whenever she could. Vickye Jo often asserted that the cantankerous monkey named "Gypsy," kept in the store, actually belonged to her mother. One summer, she worked as a Mother's Helper on a nearby farm, but she didn't enjoy gathering eggs from the feisty chickens.

During her high school years, Vickye Jo was an active member of the band, participating in numerous parades down Main Street. She was a well-known figure cruising around Lewiston with a car full of friends, often indulging in the popular pastime of "dragging Main." She later attended San Jose State University, where she pursued a degree in interior design. In her early twenties, she embarked on an adventure to Honolulu, Hawaii, with a friend, where she lived for two years and claimed to have met only the "nicest of sailors". Upon returning to Seattle, she secured a position in the General Accounting office, where she dedicated 30 years of her life before retiring as an Administrative Officer.

While in Seattle, she married Gary Bell, and together they welcomed a daughter, Ingrid, in 1971. The couple divorced in 1982. Vickye was a strong single mother, and showed her daughter you could have a career and be an awesome mom all at once. In 2004, she moved to Connecticut to assist her daughter with her grandsons, Ethan and Myles. Each year, they would embark on a summer vacation to a new destination along the East Coast.

Being a Nana, was arguably the most fulfilling chapter of Vickye's life. She was dearly loved and is profoundly missed, as there will never be another person quite like her. Vickye passed away on November 7, 2024, in Connecticut.

In honor of Vickye's memory, donations can be made to NYU FACES, https://give.nyulangone.org/ an organization dedicated to vital epilepsy research, a cause that was close to Vickye's heart.