Paul Franklin Bell

Paul passed away peacefully on October 9, 2026, at the age of 93.

Paul was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick on March 31, 1933, to Wilbert and Hazel Bell. He grew up on the family potato farm in Bell Settlement and graduated in 1951 from Carleton County Vocational School, Canada’s first community college.

At age 18 Paul moved to Brampton, Ontario where this “bread delivery guy” met and later married “Dolly” (Minnie Catherine Doreen), his wife of 71 years. Both he and Dolly worked at the infamous Avro Engines plant. Paul later completed night school to obtain his Property Assessment and Appraisal certification. Their three daughters were born in Brampton and the family later moved to Orangeville. In 1978 Paul relocated with Texaco (subsequently Imperial Oil) “Out West” to Cochrane, Alberta. He firmly took hold of the proffered “golden handshake” and embraced retirement at age 57.

Paul and Dolly loved to travel. Long road trips were a common occurrence. There was the annual trip “Down East”, and adventures strapping a play pen on the roof of the VW Bug and cramming a family of 5 (and “Perky”) to go as far as Florida. Their camping trips progressed from canvas tents to a couple of Bonair tent trailers, to the truck camper, to their dream travel trailer. They drove all over North America and into Mexico. The trailer spent summers at Lac la Hache, B.C., and winters in Yuma, Arizona. Well into their 60s Paul and Dolly backpacked through Europe and later Southeast Asia (riding elephants and river rafts with “twentysomethings”). Less ambitiously, when at loose ends, they would get in their car to drive to the mountains with snacks, cheap red wine (which Paul would mix with ginger ale) to build a fire in a snowy “Closed for the Season” campsite and play some tunes.

Paul loved the driving itself. He had a fondness for all things motorized including his snowmobiles, his boat (“Loonwatch”), his hand-me-down motorcycle, and a succession of Datsuns leading to his truck phase (followed, sadly, by minivans). He loved music and had a beautiful voice, which he was not shy to show off. Among his favourites: The Tennessee Waltz, King of the Road and Lara’s Theme.

Paul was always engaged with his community. He volunteered to drive Olympic teams from all over the world to events in the mountains during the 1988 Winter Olympics. He was a volunteer grandparent for at-risk junior high youth for years. Until age 80 he captained a Cochrane Handi bus, driving “old people” to their appointments in Calgary. Not one to “gather moss”, into his 80s he worked as a Commissionaire at the Cochrane Jail.

One of his Handi bus routes had him ferrying the residents of Big Hill Lodge. It was an easy transition when Paul and Dolly made the Lodge their home in 2019, where Paul remained until his initial hospitalization in May of this year.

He is survived by his wife Dolly, three daughters Judith Buch, Pauline Dionne and Pam Bell (Peter Douvris), six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A private Celebration of Life will be held on November 13, 2026.

Dolly asks, in lieu of flowers, should you wish to make a donation in Paul’s name, that it be made to the Cochrane Big Hill Lodge. Designate this institution on the Rocky View Foundation website https://rockyviewfoundation.org/make-difference