Gail Rose Bell

November 23, 1947 - December 26, 2018

Gail Rose Bell was so much to so many: wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, cousin, aunt, first mate, best friend, teacher, athlete and selfless caregiver. Through a life of play she inspired joy and grew community. Her days were filled engaging friends and family - racquetball, golf, pickleball, softball, volleyball, bowling, rummikub, Scrabble with friends, Risk, Qwirkle - the list goes on. Gail spent a quarter century teaching racquetball at Club Fit in Westchester, NY. She brought home championship trophies year after year and taught many others the game. In recent years, Gail worked hard to bring Pickleball to the region, establishing two courts in Putnam Valley and getting so many friends and strangers to move their bodies. She kept her social calendar full, maintaining decades-long relationships through lunches, weekends away, Leaders Club and weekly calls / cleaning sessions with her dear sister Lorraine. Gail loved and was loved by so many but the great love of her life was Paul Bell. Their relationship was forged in the Bronx and cemented through a furious exchange of letters while Paul completed his service in the Navy. They danced, dined, fished and played through 49 years of marriage. Gail is survived by Paul Bell, children Debbie and Peter Bell, grandchildren Bryce, Dylan and Sierra, her brother Billy and sister Lorraine, and too many cousins to name. Her family requests that you celebrate her great life and through a service at Yorktown Funeral Home Sunday December 30th between 2pm and 6pm and mass on Monday December 31st at Saint Columbanus at 11am with a luncheon to follow, TBD In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Parkinson's Foundation or the bone marrow donation organization - BeTheMatch.org. Please also, if you are able, consider donating platelets at your local blood donation center. Platelets are very fragile, short lived blood cells that are essential to provide hospitals with a fresh supply of platelets daily. https://parkinson.org/ways-to-give https://bethematch.org We have set up a meal train for the Bell / Rodrigue family here: https://mealtrain.com/l9lr4d