Richard Donald Bell died May 15, 2021 at Central VT Medical Center. He was born October 7, 1933 in Woodland/Baileyville, ME to Cordelia Leavitt Bell and Simeon Bell. He was the youngest of four siblings Kenneth, Dorothy and Helen Bell. The family moved to Orono, ME when his older brother began college at the University of Maine in 1940. They attended Orono Methodist Church and in first grade Sunday School class he first met (Nancy Douglass) whom he married in 1957. He graduated from High School in 1952 and went to Gorham State Teachers College to study Industrial Arts. In 1955, he applied for the draft and served 2-years as an Army diesel mechanic stationed in Alaska. He graduated from college in 1959. He taught for 29 years first in Essex Jct., VT and then at Champlain Valley Union H.S in Hinesburg, VT teaching woodworking, electricity, metal working, drafting and driver's education. He obtained a master's in education degree from SUNY Oswego. He loved teaching "reluctant learners" and to this day there are many who testify that he got them onto professional paths in industry and the trades. In 1979 he was named VT Industrial Arts Teacher of the Year. He retired in 1990. He and Nancy had 4 children, Douglass of St. Albans, VT; Steven (Kristen), of Pleasant View, UT; Scott (Carol Paiva) of Ashburn, VA; and Amy (Vera Winter) of Montpelier, VT. They also welcomed three children (Barbara Wallace, Eth Noun and AnnaJane Gebicker) into their home to help them get through adolescent hood. The family has grown to include seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. He invested a great deal of energy encouraging all his children and supporting their individual activities in scouting, crafts, woodworking, building and sports. He included them in the renovating of an old farmhouse in Williston. He was the perfect "do it yourselfer" and a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He was an excellent craftsman and builder. In 1976, he built a home in Williston for Nancy's parents. In 1992, he and Nancy bought land in Hinesburg on which he supervised the construction of a log home, cut wood, built a barn/sugarhouse and made much of the equipment to produce as much as 80 gallons of maple syrup per year. He was a 40-yr member of the VT Sugar Makers Association and an active sugar maker into his early 80's. He was a 29-year survivor of cancer. He was active in the community as a selectman in Williston; a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels and Bethany Bowl Soup Kitchen and was involved in many committees and the works of Williston Federated Church, Hinesburg United Church and Bethany Church Montpelier, where he worshipped over the years. Shortly after his and Nancy's 60th wedding anniversary they moved from Hinesburg, VT to Westview Meadows, an elder independent living facility in Montpelier, VT. To continue his crafting he built himself a loom out of PVC pipe and taught himself to weave making many beautiful placemats, scarves and napkins that he gifted to family and friends. A graveside service and burial will take place in the family plot at Riverside Cemetery in Orono, ME at 10 am on June 29th. Memorial gifts can be made to Bethany Church UCC at 115 Main St., Montpelier, VT 05602 or Hinesburg United Church, PO Box 39, Hinesburg, VT 05461.