Obituary of Margaret Cecelia Bell

BELL: Margaret Cecelia (Richardson) 

Friday December 17^th, 2021, at Hospice Peterborough, in her 81st year, Margaret (Marg) peacefully slipped away in comfort and in dignity, surrounded by her loving family. Marg was born in Lakefield, Ontario on March 4^th, 1941.  She graduated from St. Joseph’s, Peterborough and worked in the emerging field of X-ray Tech in St. Catharines, ON.  She married Norman in 1961 and they had 51 wonderful years together while raising their two daughters. She and Norman retired to the cottage in Lakefield in 1991 and where she turned her attention to being a constant presence in her grandchildren and great grandchildren’s lives. Following Norm’s death in 2013, she gathered friends who became family and met Don McCulloch who filled her most recent years with love, laughter, and companionship.  Marg will be forever missed by her two daughters Susan Bell-Gastle (James) and Christine Tibbles (Peter). She was the profoundly proud Grammy of Alex (Amy), Victoria (Ryan), Nicole, Joe and Gracie and Great Grammy to Georgia & Harriet.  She was the beloved daughter of the late Stan & Edna (Frankish) Richardson, daughter-in-law of the late Reginald Bell and Mary (Lynas Bell) Reed and stepfather-in-law Cmdr. Robert Reed.  Beloved sister of Anne Whittington (the late Clarke), and nephew Allan Whittington (Marion) and her great niece Emma. Marg was warmly welcomed into the extended McCulloch clan by Carole-Ann McCulloch, Emmy, Sunee (Jesse), and Maxine Brown and Tenielle, Jagger, Noah, and Thomas McCulloch (Maria), Natasha (Ray), Saxon, and Mica and William.  The love Marg felt from them was fully reciprocated.  Marg was so fortunate to have Joan Himann in her life, who was like a daughter to her and is a supportive big-sister to Susan and Christine.  The family wishes to thank the P.R.H.C.’s Palliative Care Unit Team for Mom’s care.  Our deepest gratitude to the exceptional care team at Hospice Peterborough and particularly Dr. John Beamish, for his wonderful long-term care of Mom. Due to the ongoing Pandemic, a Celebration of Life for Marg will occur at a later date, when the warm breezes of summer come.  It will allow us to honour Marg, in a way that she would love, with family and friends who are family, to raise a glass and remember her as a strong, independent, feisty, a force to be reckoned with, one-of-a-kind lady. Memorial donations may be made in Marg’s memory to Hospice Peterborough or P.R.H.C. Foundation for the Palliative Care Unit. Friends may share memories of Marg or make donations by contacting THE HENDREN FUNERAL HOMES, LAKEFIELD CHAPEL, 66 Queen Street, Lakefield, at www.hendrenfuneralhome.com or by calling the funeral home at 705-652-3355.