Rep. Paul A. Bell

Iowa State Representative Paul A. Bell, 59, of Newton died Monday, June 7, 2010, in the Hospice of Jasper County Monarch Wing in Newton.

A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, June 11, at the First United Methodist Church, 210 N. Second Ave. E. in Newton, with the Rev. Howard Vrankin of the First Lutheran Church in Newton officiating. The family will greet friends from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 10, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home, 1115 E. 19th St. N. in Newton.

Burial will be at Union Cemetery in Newton. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be given to Hospice of Jasper County or to the Iowa Health Foundation for Paul A. Bell Memorial.

Paul is survived by his wife, Niki of Newton; his daughter, Allison Delagardelle of Newton; his son, Brad (Laura) Bell of Phoenix, Ariz.; a grandson, Dylan Delagardelle of Newton; two sisters, Darlene M. Bollinger of Fenton, Iowa, and Ruth E. (Bill) Elbert of Ankeny, Iowa; his father-in-law, Elead Wegner of Algona, Iowa; a brother-in-law, Lamont M. (Dorothy) Wegner of Algona, Iowa; a sister-in-law, Rhonda K. Johnson of Algona, Iowa; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; an infant son, Christopher Paul Bell; and his mother-in-law, Esther Wegner.

The son of Alfred O. and LuEllena M. (Bierstedt) Bell, Paul was born Oct. 3, 1950, in Algona, Iowa. He was a graduate of Algona High School in 1968, and he received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

On Aug. 28, 1971, he was united in marriage to Niki S. Wegner in Algona. Paul had lived in Newton since 1973.

Paul was the Iowa state representative from the 41st District. He had served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 1993. Paul currently was serving on several committees in the Iowa House — the Ethics committee; the Public Safety committee; the Transportation committee; the Veterans Affairs committee; and the Natural Resources committee, where he was the chair. He was also serving on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. He didn’t miss a day of the last legislative session, during which he was having chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Paul also had served on the Newton Police Department from Oct. 21, 1974, to Dec. 31, 2005. Paul was the first D.A.R.E. officer in the State of Iowa. He had D.A.R.E. programs in Newton, Colfax-Mingo and Lynnville-Sully. He was the charter president of Iowa D.A.R.E. Association. Paul was the vice president of Illinois D.A.R.E., and he was the community service officer for eight years. He did collective bargaining for the police department. He also started Neighborhood Watch in Newton.

Paul was an active member of the First Lutheran Church in Newton. He served on the RSVP Board of Directors, where he was a past president, and he served on the YMCA Board of Directors and was a past president. He was a Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commissioner, member of Morning Kiwanis, B.C. Berg PTA, was involved with Special Olympics, served on the Salvation Army Board and the League of Women Voters, Cub Scout Council, Newton Little League, Red Ribbon Campaign and the Jaycees.

Paul enjoyed being with his family, his morning coffee group at Hy-Vee, his fishing buddies, Wednesday Poker Night, Afternoon Card Group, gardening, Prairie Meadows, the Capital Lunch Crowd, the Chicago Cubs, Iowa Hawkeyes and the New York Yankees.