| Notes |
- Niagara Gazette - 4/5/1970
OSCAR BELL JR.. - A
quiet, soft-spoken. man; with
a humorous twinkle in his eye
and an aura of warmth and
understanding about him said
that he became a licensed
embalmer and funeral director
and subsequently a
Niagara County Coroner, because
he was a "victim or
the depression."
He was born in this city
in 1911 and educated at 10th
Street School. Fifth Street
School, South Junior High and
Niagara Falls High School;
He then attended Hobart College
in Geneva. NY and
graduated with a degree in
business administration
He said, "There was not
much doing when I graduated
in 1933. the depression was
-in full cycle, so I went to..
work .with my father
Going to work with his
father meant s t u d y i ng
anatomy physiology and em-
baming. His, father Oscar
Bell Sr was the founder of
the Bell Funeral Home here
in 1919.
OSCAR as he is known to
his many friends continued
in business with his father
except for a three-year period
during World War II when
he was sent to Abadan Iran
as business administrator for
a civilian hospital operated by
the Douglas Aircraft Corp
There was such a shortage
of nurses there that I often
had to pitch in and do nursing
duty also said Oscar with
grin
Returning to this city he
again entered business with
his father and today operates
the Bell Funeral Home in
Main Street
'In 1960 I got the desire
to become a coroner but at
that time a close friend of
mine, Gene Ingram, son of
Eugene Ingram, was coroner
and I would not run against
him. he said 'However I
was appointed to fill the
unexpired term of Gene in
August 1966 and was elected
to my first full term in Jan
1967.
Since then Mr Bell has
filled that position and was
reelected for another three
year term in 1969.
WHEN ASKED WHY anyone,
would want to become a cor-
oner he replied "The posi
tion fascinates me It involves
investigative work, it means
increasing my knowledge of
anatomy physiology and
pathology and also it keeps
me active It also renders
a service which must be per.
formed in the best interests
of .the community he added
He said the most frustrating
and distressing, part of his
job is, dealing with suicide
cases . The hardest part he
said "is convincing the
family of the deceased that.
one of their loved ones chose;
that means to end his life
it is always difficult for the
family to comprehend or ac
cept that fact
In. one case-he recalled "I
spent the better part of two
weeks investigating just to
prove to myself and the
family that it was not an ac
cident."
For his troubles Coroner
Bell receives $30 per case
from Niagara County. He
averages about 300 cases
year and drives approx-
imately 8.000 miles in con
nection with his investiga
tions From his fee he must
pay for his car expenses
postage equipment meals
and all other incidental ex-
penses with the exception of
the typing of his reports.
These transcriptions, are paid
for by the county He carries
a tape recorder purchased by
him and uses this to dictate
his reports which are then
transcribed by a pathology
secretary.
ASKED WHAT he thought
of a licensed doctor being
more suitable as a coroner
he said. I made inquiries
through pathologists about
this as to the possible cost
of setting up a medical ex-
aminer System in Niagara
County and they assure me
the cost would be prohibitive
in a county this size. He
added 'The Board Of Super-
visors made a study on this
several years ago and it was
agreed that setting up such
a system would be fiscally
impractical.
His main complaint about
,his job is the .fact that it
added seven strokes to his golf
handicap He said "Before I
became coroner I had a 14
handicap. It is now 21. His
other major interest is
radio.
Amature radio in 1935 he
became interested and that
???? year was granted his
W8RVA but it along with all
other stations was taken off
the air during the war years
While he did not reinstate his
license after the war the in-
terest still remains.
HE SAID, speaking of his
responsibilities. The entire
burden of a decision rests on
the coroner It provides him
with the authority of a
magistrate in the fact that
he-can subpoena .and question
witnesses He must also order
an autopsy where any doubt
exists or when one is re
quested by the district attor-
ney he explained
He also praised the
cooperation he receives from
all law enforcement agencies
hospitals and medical staffs
in the county 'Without their
excellent help the job would
be much more difficult
He married the former
Thelma H Hackford of this
city in 1936 They are the
-proud-parents; of three chil
dren Staff Sgt John R Bell
with Strategic Air Command
S.D Barbara Ann Bell at
home and Mrs J o s e p n
(Cynthia) Gatti of this city
They have four grandchildren
two here and two in South
Dakota
|
1911 - 1981 (69 years)