ASHLAND, Feb. 3 – Joseph Nathan Bell, 89, of Ashland, died Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

He is survived by a son, Mark Bell, and sister, Ann Tynis and her family of Richmond.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Bell, a captain in the US Army Nurse Corps and an RN at Beth Sholom; and a sister, Mary Bell Richardson.

Mr. Bell was born in Prince Edward County and raised on a family farm near Darlington Heights. He worked for DuPont in Richmond before entering the US Army to fight in WWII.

He was a retired Lt. Colonel in the US Air Force, a WWII B24 combat pilot in Europe, and a member of VFW Post 2583. In his retirement, he was a supervisor at American Filtrona Corp., a farmer, a member of the Ruritans, and a past secretary of the Hanover County Electoral Board.

A private service was held in Signal Hill Memorial Park.

Nelsen Funeral Home and Crematory, Ashland, served the family.