Steve Bell Sr.

DEXTER, Mo. -- Steve Vernon Bell Sr., 84, a longtime resident of Sikeston, Missouri, and Dexter, passed away peacefully surrounded by family and his caregiver, Marilynn Slocum, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, at his home in Dexter.

Born Feb. 10, 1931, in Formosa, Arkansas, he was the oldest of seven children born to the late Doy Walton and Bernice Bowman Bell. He was the grandson of the late Thomas Newton and Delona Iona Owens Bell and Joseph E. and Myrtle Jane Bryant Bowman. On Jan. 29, 1949, in Piggott, Arkansas, he married the love of his life, Jewell Virginia Stephens, who preceded him in death Oct. 18, 2013.

In the 1950s, Steve started as a sharecropper and was a restaurant owner. In the early 1960s, he worked as an appliance, TV and radio repairman. He later owned and operated Steve's Electronics in Sikeston. By hard work and determination, on May 2, 1963, he acquired his first cable-television franchise in Ellington, Missouri. After implementing this system, he began pioneering cable television into Southeast Missouri, Northeast Arkansas and Northwest Tennessee for rural communities as Delta Video Cable Systems. Steve, along with his wife, Jewell, worked tirelessly to develop and improve cable television for the Tri-State area for the next 25 years. During his many years of working with cable systems, he served on the board of directors for The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and was inducted into the Cable Television Hall of Fame in 1993. The SCTE Hall of Fame comprises SCTE members who, over the course of time, have made extraordinary contributions to the professional development, ideals and goals of the Society and the cable telecommunications industry.

After retirement, Steve went back to his roots and passion of farming, purchasing farmland in Stoddard and Scott counties in Missouri. Steve found great joy in taking his family and friends out for visits on the farm. When not at the farm, Steve and Jewell traveled extensively around the world and were active members in the Missouri Delta Unit Airstream Club.

Steve and Jewell always put their family first, looking for ways to bring their family together. From the construction of a family lake house to full family holidays and even a family trip to Disney World, their most prized possessions were their children and grandchildren. Steve found great joy in telling the great-grandchildren about the monkeys in the backyard and slipping them dollar bills. And for all that knew him, knew that he loved telling stories. You could be certain that 50 percent of every story was indeed true, but you just didn't know which 50 percent. What a jokester! He loved life and lived it to the fullest.

He left a lasting legacy full of wonderful memories and abundant love that will carry on for generations.

Steve leaves to cherish his memory his son, Steve Vernon Bell II and wife Janet of Dexter; three daughters, Janet Lynn Heuring of Dexter, Linda Gaye Cooper and husband Barry of Dexter and Margaret Jo Ellen Bell of Van Buren, Missouri; four brothers, Joe Tom (Doris) Bell of Douglas, Georgia, Charles Dale (Carolyn) Bell of Dexter, James Chester (Jeanette) Bell of Sikeston and Kenneth Ray (Debbie) Bell of Bloomfield, Missouri; one sister, Dorothy Lavern Barnes of Portage, Michigan; seven grandchildren, Eric Heuring and wife Emily, Lori Bishop and husband Kevin, Brandi Juden and husband Andrew, Brandon Church and wife Cheyenne, Kristina Bell, Julianna Bell and fiance Cody Branch and Dylan Acevedo; seven great-grandchildren, Anna, Lydia, Luke, Charles Avery, Brittany, Aiden and Jacey; one great-great-grandchild, Caiden; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by one grandson, Christopher Gerald Heuring; one brother, George Ellis Bell; one brother-in-law, Melvin Barnes; and one sister-in-law, Ethel Bell.

Visitation will take place from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.

The funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Matt Johnson and the Rev. Joshua Carpenter officiating. Interment will be in Dexter Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Eric Heuring, Brandon Church, Kevin Bishop, Dylan Acevedo, Andrew Juden and Cody Branch.