Margaret L. "Joyce" Bell

Margaret L. "Joyce" Bell, 77, entered into rest at her home, surrounded by her family, on Sunday, October 13, 2013, after an extended illness. She was born on October 24, 1935 in Lawton, Okla. to Issac H. and Flora Bell (Campbell) Gabbard. Bell married Jerry D. Bell on June 20, 1964 at the Wichita Mission in Anadarko, Okla. They had been married for over 49 years.

Bell obtained a bachelor of science in Business Administration and served in various fields of administration and management that included:… Tribal Administrator for the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and Delaware Nation; Vice-President and President of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. She served as director of the WCD (Wichita, Caddo, Delaware) Community Development Health Services Management Program and was the director of WCD Community Health Services.

With the Bureau of Indian Affairs Area Office, Bell served in the following positions: Human Resources Consultant, Personnel Management Specialist, Budget Assistant, Budget Analyst and Conveyances Examiner. She also worked as Personnel Assistant and Personnel Director for Sequoyah Carpet Mills. Her other experience involved working as a secretary/steno for Facilities Engineering and also for the Branch of Transportation at the Bureau of Indian Affairs Area Office.

Bell was past Worthy Matron of Chapter 101 Order of the Eastern Star in Anadarko, Okla. Her honors, activities and achievement while obtaining her degree include her membership in Alpha Lambda Delta, a scholastic fraternity; Phi Beta Lambda, a business fraternity; Hypatia Honor Society; and Honorary Scholastic Society of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, recognized in the University community as the most noteworthy honor to which a student may aspire. Membership is governed by the same requirements as Phi Beta Kappa.

She was nominated for Who's Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 1983-1984. She also served as President of the Federal Women's Program, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Bell taught one semester of Business Communications at the Kiowa Adult Education facility in Carnegie, Okla. to members of the Kiowa Tribe per request of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. Margaret served on the Wichita Tribe Industrial Development Commission Board and the Wichita Gaming Commission Board. She was a past Wichita Tribal Princess. Bell was a member of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes of Oklahoma and the First Baptist Church in Anadarko, Okla. She lived in the Anadarko area most of her life.

(Information based on Smith Funeral Home website)