Evan Wilkes Bell ’51

We lost our good friend Doc Bell, who had suffered from a heart condition since 1997, on April 12, 2005. A native New Yorker, he was the son of Dr. Samuel D. Bell '13 and nephew of James Christy Bell '12.

Doc prepared at Deerfield and affiliated with '51 after serving in the infantry during World War II. He was a chemical engineer and treasurer of Prospect Club.

After graduation he worked for many years with Phillips Petroleum Co. in the high-density polyethylene field. His marriage to Carlotta Houck ended in divorce; he shared the rest of his life with his beloved Polly, whom he married in 1984.

Doc and Polly operated a family-oriented nudist park in Banks County, Ga., where they were also active in the Gainesville Theatre Alliance and the Cold Sassy Players, and sang in the Homer United Methodist Church choir.

He is survived by Polly; his four children, Daniel, Caroline Leardo, David, and Nancy; six grandchildren; his brothers Christy '44 and Philip '46; and his sister, Miriam Reed. Another brother, Sam '43, predeceased him. The class shares this Princeton family's deep sense of loss.

The Class of 1951