Willis Edward Bell, 1918-2011

Willis Edward Bell, 93, of Port Charlotte, Fla., died Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. Bell was the Chief Signal Engineer of the Erie Lackawanna Railway and later the Chief Engineer for Communications and Signals at the United States Railway Association. He completed his career as a Project Manager at Gibbs and Hill, Inc., in Washington D.C., designing and implementing the signaling and train control system for the WMATA Metrorail rapid transit system. Bell and his wife Lois, who predeceased him, retired to Port Charlotte in 1983.

Bell graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1943 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He served as a 1st Lieutenant in the Signal Corps of the United States Army during World War II.

Bill is survived by his four children—Thomas E. Bell of Houston, Tex.; Craig W. Bell of Indianapolis; Susan A. Miner of Atkinson, N.H., and Barbara Mills of Glenville, Pa.—five grandchildren, and a brother, Frank Donald Bell of Allison Park, Pa.