Andrea Gilstrap Bell, 58, and Robert E. Bob Bell Jr., 61, both of Hickory, N.C., died Sunday, Aug. 1, 2003, in a plane crash in Hilton Head. Mrs. Bell, born Sept. 10, 1944, in Greenville, SC, was the daughter of Loyce and Mary Ellen Hughes Gilstrap. She was owner and president of Jet Kleen Car Wash Co. LLC. Mrs. Bell received a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C. in 1966. She taught third and fourth grades in Pickens, Lexington and Mecklenburg counties and was a member of the Executive Club. She was also a secretary of Informed Investors. Mr. Bell, born June 8, 1942, in Charleston, was a son of Robert E. Bell Sr. and the late Myrtle Lester Bell. Bob grew up on a farm close to Kingstree, S.C. A member of the class of 1964, he earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from The Citadel and a master’s degree in accounting from the University of South Carolina in 1967. He served as an officer in the Army’s Corps of Engineers, spending 1965 in Vietnam as a qualified Airborne Ranger. He worked five years with Arthur Andersen & Co., specializing in tax, audit and management problems of closely held business es within the small business division of the firm. Bob was the chief executive officer of Hickory Brands Inc., a marketing and manufacturing company of Griffin, Esquire and Ten Seconds shoe polishes, cleaners and leather care products. He was a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant. The Bells were members of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Hickory, N.C., where Mrs. Bell was also involved with the Joy Sunday school class. Surviving in addition to her parents, of Easley, and his father, of Kingstree are a son and daughter-in-law, Robert E. Robby Bell III and Kathi Bell, of Hickory; a daughter, Virginia Ginger Ellen Bell, of Surfside Beach; a grandson, Robert E. Bo Bell IV, of Hickory; a granddaughter, Alexandrea Lexi Victoria Bell, of Hickory; his two brothers, Charles Tilden Bell, of Raleigh and Lester McGill Bell, of Sumter; and his two sisters, Julia Marion Bell, of Chicago, Illinois, and Joyce Louise Bell, of San Fransisco, California. A memorial service was conducted by the Rev. Thomas Gibson on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2003, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Hickory, N.C. The Joy Class of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church served as honorary pallbearers. The family received friends at Bass-Smith Funeral Home in Hickory on Tuesday night. Memorials may be made to The Robert E. Bob Bell Jr. and Andrea Gilstrap Bell Memorial Fund, c/o Bank of Granite, 25 Third St., NW, Hickory, N.C. 28601. — Courtesy of Robinson Funeral Home, Downtown.
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