Peace Corps Staffer Paul C. Bell Jr. died in Washington DC on May 16, 2003. Mr. Bell worked for the Peace Corps in Latin America in the mid-1960s, then returned to the Peace Corps in 1977, serving as regional director for Latin American and Caribbean programs.

Mr. Bell worked for the Peace Corps in Latin America in the mid-1960s, then returned to the Peace Corps in 1977, serving as regional director for Latin American and Caribbean programs. 

Paul C. Bell Jr., 74, who had worked for the Agency for International Development since 1983, died May 16 in San Jose, Costa Rica, after surgery for a heart ailment. He maintained homes in Costa Rica and Alexandria.  At the time of his death, Mr. Bell was senior adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean for AID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. He also served as Americas region chairman of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group of the United Nations.  He had worked for private and public groups furnishing humanitarian aid to Latin America for 50 years. He helped direct disaster relief programs in the aftermath of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and helped train more than 32,000 workers in Latin America.

Mr. Bell, a graduate of Baylor University, received a master's degree at Southwestern Theological Seminary in his native Texas. He was ordained by the Southern Baptist Convention and began his work in Latin America as a missionary with the church's foreign mission board, serving in Central America and Colombia.  He worked for the Peace Corps in Latin America in the mid-1960s, then became vice president of the Inter-American Foundation in 1971. He returned to the Peace Corps in 1977, serving as regional director for Latin American and Caribbean programs. He worked for the State Department and as a project manager for a UN Pan Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention project before joining AID.

His wife of 49 years, Carolyn Crunk Bell, died in 1999. A daughter, Terrye Ann Bell, died in 1964.  Survivors include five children, Ellen Bell Lynch of Watertown, Mass., Paul L. Bell of Rileyville, Va., Jeanne Bell McMorrow of Freeport, Maine, Susan Bell Gaitan of Falls Church and David C. Bell of Sterling; three sisters; and eight grandchildren.

USAID Notice  05/16/2003

It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of an icon in Humanitarian Assistance. Mr. Paul Bell passed away at 2:00 a.m. Friday, May 16 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Mr. Bell is survived by his five children.

The son of a Missionary living in Latin America, Mr. Bell started his career with the Peace Corps. He served as Peace Corps Director in several countries from 1964-1971 and 1976-1980. From 1971-1975 he was Vice President for Operations for the Inter-American Foundation. In May 1980, he was asked to serve as the Deputy Director on the Cuban-Haitian Task Force at the Department of State and shortly thereafter, he joined USAID working in the Bureau for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC).

In June 1983, Mr. Bell joined the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance as the Senior Regional Advisor for LAC. During his tenure, he participated on more than 50 Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) worldwide. Mr. Bell was a firm believer in strengthening the capacity of Latin Americans to mitigate and prepare for disasters. To this end, Mr. Bell's team has trained over 32,000 Latin Americans as First Responders and also worked with governments to promote self-sufficiency in disaster response. Mr. Bell was also internationally known as a leader in Humanitarian Assistance and served as Chair for several important organizational events, including the International Search and Rescue Assistance Group (INSARAG) and the Summit of America's Hemispheric Risk Reduction Conference. As a role model, Mr. Bell touched many lives both here in the Americas and worldwide.

A memorial Service has been tentatively set for 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 19th at the Iglesia Nuestra Sena de Loreto, across from the U.S. Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the Bell Family in care of USAID/OFDA/LAC Office in Costa Rica, c/o U.S. Embassy San Jose, Unit 2503, APO, AA 34020- 9503. A Memorial Service in the U.S. will be scheduled and announced at a later date.

 More about Paul from his Friends in Chile

Lamentable pérdida
Falleció Paul C. Bell
Coordinador de OFDA para América Latina

Tenemos el sentimiento de comunicar el fallecimiento del Sr. Paul C. Bell, Coordinador Regional para América Latina y El Caribe de OFDA, y Presidente del Grupo de las Américas del INSARAG, señor Paul C. Bell.  Paul Bell, quien falleció sorpresivamente de un infarto al corazón, fue un hombre de una destacada trayectoria en la OFDA (Oficina de Asistencia para Desastres de EE.UU), en Partners of América y en INSARAG (International Search and Rescue Advisory Group), organismos a través de los cuales siempre demostró una constante preocupación por acrecentar los lazos de cooperación con los Bomberos de Chile. 

El Presidente Nacional, Octavio Hinzpeter, hizo llegar a OFDA una carta de condolencias para reflejar el profundo pesar de Bomberos de Chile por la partida de Paul C. Bell.  Octavio Hinzpeter Blumsak, Presidente Nacional de Bomberos de Chile, saluda a la Oficina de Asistencia para Desastres, Coordinación para América Latina y el Caribe, y enterado del sorpresivo deceso del Sr. Paul C. Bell (Q.E.P.D.), Presidente del Grupo de las Américas de INSARAG y Coordinador Regional para América Latina y el Caribe de OFDA, en nombre de Bomberos de Chile y suyo propio, hace llegar a sus colaboradores y distinguida familia, los sinceros sentimiento de aflicción y pésame por esta irreparable pérdida. 

Hinzpeter, desea dejar constancia de la constante preocupación que manifestó el ilustre extinto por acrecentar los lazos de cooperación entre las distintas instituciones que atienden la seguridad ante emergencias y desastres en nuestro continente, marco en el cual siempre tuvo particular deferencia para con Bomberos de Chile. Por ello, estamos ciertos de que su gestión es base insustituible para seguir creciendo en integración y coordinación para un mejor resguardo de nuestras comunidades.  Haciendo votos por el eterno descanso del alma de tan destacado dirigente regional de la protección civil, reitero las condolencias desde este Sur del Mundo, donde también sus capacidades fueron conocidas y, sin duda, enriquecieron nuestro acervo institucional.

SANTIAGO, 16 de mayo de 2003.