SALUTE TO BISHOP D. RAYFORD BELL
WHEREAS, Bishop D. Rayford Bell, a remarkable preacher and spiritual icon, enters the legion of this city's burgeoning nonagenarians on July 9 2013; and
WHEREAS, Bishop Bell start out life as Dennis Raphael Bell, born to sharecropper parents in Leflore, Mississippi in 1923 and raised by his grandparents. In spite of such humble beginnings, he refused to accept his situation as simply his lot in life. He was convinced that a ray of light from above would shine down upon him and lift him up to greater heights; and
WHEREAS, In 1938, after a brief stint in Missouri, he returned to Mississippi where he met the late Darlene Griffin to whom he was joined in the holy bonds of matrimony on July 20, 1942. Their union was blessed with two sons, Harvey and Curtis, and, eventually, nine grandchildren. After 48 years of marriage, Darlene Griffin Bell made her transition following a lengthy illness. In April of 1991, Bishop Bell was remarried to Jacqulene Collins of Cincinnati, Ohio; and
WHEREAS, Shortly after his first child was born, Bishop Bell was drafted into the United States Army during World War II. After training, he was sent to the European Theater where he saw action in the campaign of Northern France, Ardennes, Rhincland and Central Europe. He was honorably discharged on December 9, 1945; and
WHEREAS, Bishop Bell received the Holy Ghost on April 1, 1949. From that day forward, he sought to improve himself. After finishing high school at LaSalle University, he earned a Bachelors Degree with honors from Southwestern College, a Masters Degree in Theology from American Bible College, and a Doctoral Degree in both Theology and Philosophy from Toledo Bible College and Seminary; and
WHEREAS, For more than 55 years, Bishop D. Rayford Bell has been an Apostolic preacher serving the people of God in many ways, preaching the Gospel from street corners in Chicago to 49 states throughout this nation, more than 50 countries, all five inhabited contin...
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