March 8, 2022, 76, Mount Olive –

Billy Ray Bell, Sr., 76, resident of Tram Road, Mount Olive, passed away Tuesday morning, March 8, 2022.

A service of remembrance will be held Thursday, March 10, at 7 p.m. at Tyndall Funeral Home, officiated by the Rev. Jeff Bartlett, with visitation to follow. Flowers or memorials are welcome.

While Ray’s working career included many duties and employers, he was a truck driver for most of his working years. He had served in the North Carolina National Guard. He was an avid fisherman and had enjoyed hunting in past years.

Ray is survived by his wife, Carolyn Herring Bell; his children, Billy Ray Bell, Jr., Donna Bell Rivenbark and husband, Stuart, Jennifer Bell with companion, Bill Stanley, and Pamela Bell Smith and husband, Phillip, all of Mount Olive; 15 grandchildren, Dusty, Jessica, Chase, Trevor, Elizabeth, Laramie, Mikayla, Austin, Kylie, Ava Claire, Kelsey, Lacey, Colby, Milly, and Madilyn Rae; several great-grandchildren; a sister, Thelma B. Barnett and husband, Henry, of Kenansville; two brothers, Adrian Bell and wife, Sue, and Gary Bell and wife, Teresa, all of Kenansville; several nieces and nephews; and the families of the late Louis and Hazel Herring.

He was preceded in death by a son, Michael Vance Bell; his parents, Joe Bell and Mamie Cherry Bell Whaley; a sister, Mary Smith; and brothers, Bobby Bell and Ronald Bell.