Curtis Porter Bell

Dr. Curtis Porter Bell, 83, passed away on February 24, 2018 at his home in Spartanburg, SC. He was born on July 26, 1934 in Augusta, GA to the Rev. Curtis O. Bell and Mrs. Louise Hinson Bell.
Dr. Bell grew up in Warrenville, Cayce, Laurens, Greenville, and Georgetown, SC. He graduated from Winyah High School in Georgetown in 1952, and attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC where he graduated summa cum laude in 1955 with a B.S. degree in Mathematics. While at Wofford, Curtis was a member of the Army ROTC, Scabbard and Blade, and Phi Beta Kappa honor fraternity. After college, Curtis taught at Limestone College for a year, before being commissioned as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, serving from 1956-1958 as an Army Intelligence Officer.
Following his military service, Curtis went on to earn his M.A. (1960) and PhD (1963) degrees in Mathematics from the University of Georgia. Dr. Bell joined the faculty of Wofford College in 1963, where he served as a professor of Mathematics for 36 years, from 1963 until his retirement in 1999.
Dr. Bell was preceded in death by his parents, the Rev. C.O. Bell and Louise H. Bell, and his son Dr. Stephen H. Bell. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Cornelia Riser Bell of Spartanburg, SC; his sons, Jeffrey C. (Janelle) Bell of Cookeville, TN, and Ryan R. Bell of Boiling Springs, SC; his daughter-in-law, Marla M. Bell of Kennesaw, GA; his twin brother, R. Cobb (Ruth) Bell of Georgetown, SC; his grandchildren, Brandon Bell, Emily Bell (Jake) Crowder, Savannah Bell, Bethany Bell, Adam Bell, and Jeffrey Bell, Jr.; his great-grandchildren, Scarlett Bell, James Crowder, and Lachlan Crowder; his nieces, Martha Bell (Sidney) Smith of Columbia, SC and Mary Bell (Timothy) Wall of Georgetown, SC; and their families and many other relatives.
Visitation will be held at St. James United Methodist Church in Spartanburg, SC on Saturday, March 3 from 10:00 – 10:45 AM, followed by a memorial service at 11:00AM in the sanctuary, officiated by the Rev. J. Wayne Smith, Jr. A private burial will follow in Whitmire Cemetery, Whitmire, SC.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Wofford College, 429 North Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303-3663, or to St. James UMC, 213 North Lanford Road, Spartanburg, SC, 29301.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.grayfuneralhome.com
Gray Funeral Home of Whitmire