Dorthea Bell 1935-2020

Dorthea Bell, 84, Hoyt, died Wednesday, April 8, 2020, at Midland Hospice House in Topeka.

She was born June 25, 1935, in rural Valley Falls, the daughter of Henry and Lena Rathert. She attended country school through eighth grade and graduated from Valley Falls High School in 1953. 

Mrs. Bell was a homemaker. In her early years she had worked at several banks in Topeka, including Kaw Valley Bank in north Topeka.

She was baptized as an infant and confirmed in St. Matthew Lutheran Church at Nortonville. She and her husband joined Potawatomi United Methodist Church at Mayetta.

She married Keith E. Bell on Aug. 17, 1962, in Miami, Okla. He survives.

Other survivors include a son, Jim Bell, Lenexa; two daughters, Christina Wilder and husband Steven, San Jose, Calif., and Carla Klein and husband William, Walnut Creek, Calif.; three sisters, Edna Louise Reeder, Boise, Idaho, Margaret Griffith, Wichita, and Mary Boyce and husband Wilbur, Valley Falls; two grandchildren, Sarah and Hannah Wilder; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Carl Rathert and Emil Rathert.

Mrs. Bell will lie in state after 9 a.m. Monday, April 13 at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Hoyt. A private graveside service will be held Tuesday morning in Mayetta Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Potawatomi United Methodist Church or Midland Care, sent in care of Chapel Oaks Funeral Home, P.O. Box 280, Hoyt, KS 66440.