Staff Writer
On Friday, Dec. 23 Caribou and Aroostook County was sadden to hear of the death of Wilfred ‘Will’ Bell, one the city’s most familiar faces and biggest promoters of the area. He was 84.
Aroostook Republican file photo/Barb Scott
Will Bell, left, Jim Cyr and John Swanberg, all members of Caribou’s Sesquicentennial Committee, displayed the original painting done by the late Caribou artist Wilda Hutchins, representing Ret. Col. Joe Kittinger and the Rosie O’Grady, Balloon of Peace. The treasured painting was the item of an extended search that Bell committed himself to locating in order to present it to Col. Kittinger in honor of the 25th anniversary of the famous balloon flight. After a lengthy search, Bell discovered the painting was owned by a Fort Fairfield resident, from whom he was able to purchase it. The painting was presented to Col. Kittinger on Sept. 5, 2009, by Bell during the afternoon and evening events that followed Caribou’s Sesquicentennial Parade.
A leader in everything he became involved with from his 43 years in the grocery business (33 as manager winning more awards than any other statewide); his commitment to state and community government roles; the Caribou Chamber of Commerce; the Caribou Board of Trade, the Caribou United Fund, to name only a few and his energetic instrumentation of Joe Kittinger’s flight of the Rosie O’Grady Balloon of Peace as well as the Balloon Historic Site now in place on Kittinger Drive; to his relentless participation — and picture-taking, during Caribou’s Sesquicentennial Celebration in 2009.
Diane Gove, Aroostook County Commissioner/County Treasurer secretary stated, “We’re just going miss him. He never came to work but he had a big smile on his face and of course he always had his camera ready. Will was always there for everyone and he never missed a roll call. We all loved him and we will miss him greatly.”
“He will be sadly missed, that’s for sure,” said Mary Stacy, Lincoln County deputy treasurer. “For many of us, thanks to Will we experienced our first trips to Aroostook County and to Caribou. Before Will became County Treasurer, it was rare that someone from the County attended our meetings held downstate, but Will never missed a meeting and when it came time for the County to host a meeting, he made sure we were all in attendance. He and Cecile always traveled here together, they were such wonderful people.”
“He was a go-getter that’s for sure,” stated Darrel Plourde, who worked alongside of Bell from 1970 to 1992, at the former Paradis IGA in Caribou. “Will was a true politician, he wanted to satisify everyone but the difference between Will the politican and another person, was that he really cared — he was sincere. I remember that when he was on the city council, he used to spend a lot of time talking with Terry St. Peter (city manager) in his office at the store, he was very serious about everything he did.”
Plourde said that one of the things Bell did on a regular bases for a number of years was that every Sunday he would deliver the Sunday paper to subscribers in the Valley. “Will did this for many years and each year, as his children got a bit older, one of them went with him, this is why he did that route, to be able to spend time with his kids,” Plourde added.
Whether it was his 15 years as a city councilor or long-term membership in the Catholic Order of Foresters, Wilfred Bell was a man or his word. His dedication, sincere smile and seemingly untiring work ethic benefited the entire Caribou community as well as The County.
In addition to his wife of more than 61 years, Cecile, Mr. Bell is survived by seven children, a brother, two sisters and numerous grandchildren and great-granchildren. A complete obituary can be found on page 4 of this section.
