William Henry Bell, age 98, died on Saturday, June 17 at The Oaks at The Marshes on Skidaway Island in Savannah. He had been a resident of Savannah since 1989, living on Skidaway Island. Bell was born in Schenectady, New York. Bell graduated with honors from Princeton University in 1939, Phi Beta Kappa and spent most of his life in Moorestown.
His subsequent banking career began with J. P. Morgan in New York. He eventually became president, director and chief executive officer of Heritage Bankcorp, a statewide institution in New Jersey. He was active in the New Jersey Bankers Association and the Association of Bank Holding Companies. He served on the boards of directors of several industrial companies and charitable institutions.
Bell devoted several years as chairman of the Coriell Institute of Medical Research in Camden and was also vice-chairman of Duralith Corporation of Millsville. He was listed in “Who’s Who in America” and was a member of the Pine Valley Golf Club.
During World War II, he attained the rank of Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy, and he ultimately took command of a Destroyer Escort, which won five battle stars in Pacific campaigns and was credited with the sinking of a Japanese submarine.
In the 1950s, Bell formed a nonprofit association with the purpose of improving the decaying housing in Camden. Over a seven year period, 530 homes were rebuilt and sold to low income families with low rate long term mortgages.
During his Savannah years, he served on the Board of Directors of Hospice Savannah, Inc., and he was a member of the Oglethorpe Club and the St. Andrews Society. He was a communicant of St. James Catholic Church.
Bell was preceded in death by his wife, Alice Creedon Bell of Melrose, his second wife, Barbara West Bell of Savannah, his parents William H. and Elizabeth Lambert Bell of Schenectady, and two sisters, Betty Metcalfe of Cape Cod, Mas. and Janet Parker, of New York.
He is surviving by his daughters, Susan Bell Santangelo of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Martha L. Bell-Hart of Edmonds, Wash., Patricia Bell of South Deerfield, Mass., Barbara Bell Grover of Salt Lake City , Alexandra Bell of Ashfield, Mass. and Madeline Bell-Black of Moorestown. He is also survived by his brother, Donald L. Bell of Ballston Spa, N.Y.; ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Also surviving are his two step-sons, Parker Page and Owen Page III.
The family will intern his remains in the family plot in New Jersey at a later date.
The family suggests that remembrances be made to the St. James Catholic Church located at 8412 Whitefield Ave, Savannah, GA 31406.
