Christopher “Chris” J. Bell

Christopher “Chris” J. Bell, 32, of Dows passed away on Saturday, July 25, 2020 at his home in Dows.

Funeral service for Chris will be held Friday, August 7, 2020 at 1:00 pm at Dows Community Center, 119 East Ellsworth Street, Dows, Iowa with Pastor Bruce Greene officiating. Interment will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery, Dows.

The visitation for Chris will be held Friday, August 7, 2020 beginning at 11:00 AM at the Dows Community Center.

Chris was born on March 2, 1988 in Iowa City, Iowa to Chuck and Cindy (Bald) Bell and his big brother, Matt. He attended Dows school and graduated from CAL-Dows in 2006.

On June 23, 2018 Chris was united in marriage to Julia Zeiger at his parents’ home. They made their home in Dows.

Chris began working in the family Bell Salvage business when he was about 6 years old. He was a bright kid, self-taught inventor, had a lot of “stupid knowledge”, loved electronics and figuring things out. He wouldn’t throw anything away because he could make 2 work out of 3 broken, he always had ideas.

Chris was a hardcore fisherman too. He enjoyed fishing rivers, ponds, gravel pits and even Florida to see what he could come up with. Chris loved to share his stories with Matt.

Chris had a big heart and was generous to a fault. He helped many strangers with car trouble and fixing flat tires. Chris might operate on “Chris Bell Time” and get sidetracked but could put more hours in a day and wanted to finish the job. He loved his kids and many nieces and nephews and enjoyed teaching them. Chris is so loved by his family and will be dearly missed.

Chris is survived by his wife, Julie; son Brantley and bonus son Preston; parents, Chuck and Cindy Bell of Dows; brother Matt Bell (MiKayla Jones) of Dows; mother-in-law and father-in-law Milissa and Don Katschke of Clarion; father-in-law and mother-in-law Jerry and Lynn Zeiger of Clyde, Missouri; sister-in-law Jackie Zeiger (Orlando) of Clarion; brother-in-law Josh Zeiger (Megan) of Twenty Nine Palms, California; many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, one great niece and many friends.

Chris is preceded in death by paternal grandparents Dorothy and Archie Bell, Sr.; uncles, Roger and Fred Bell; and maternal grandparents Gail and Darrell Bald.

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