Eldridge Stephen Bell Jr.

Eldridge Stephen Bell, Jr., 97, of Oak Ridge, TN, passed away on May 30, 2026. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 53 years, Betty Lee Hamrick Bell; infant twin sons; a special niece and nephew; and his siblings and their spouses.

Steve is survived by his wife of 20 years, Rose Anne Hartman Bell; 8 children; 12 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and 1 great-great-grandchild.

After completing high school in 1945, Steve joined the US Army and was stationed in Italy on a post-World War II peacekeeping mission. He was called back to duty in the Korean conflict and was deployed to Tokyo, Japan and served in the Eighth Army, achieving the rank of Corporal. Upon his return, he graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now VA Tech) and began his engineering career with General Electric. In 1961, he began a 35-year career with VA Tech as an Associate Professor of Agricultural Engineering.

A visitation will be held at First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge, 350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 on Saturday, June 6, at 2:00 with a celebration of Steve’s life and an ice cream social following at 3:00 p.m.

A visitation and graveside service will be held in Blacksburg, VA at a later date.

Memorials in Steve’s memory may be made to the Steve and Betty Bell Scholarship Endowment Fund at Blacksburg United Methodist Church, 111 Church St. SE, Blacksburg, VA 24060 or to the FUMC Memorial Fund in memory of Steve.

The family would like to thank all of the Viva Senior Living and Caris Hospice caregivers and staff for their excellent care.

.