Richard "Brad" Bell

Richard Monroe Bell was born to Monroe F. and Rena M. Bell in Las Cruces, New Mexico on April 11, 1951, where he lived till 1969. From an early age, Richard was fascinated by nature and God"™s creations. He loved being part of those creations, whether he was fishing, hunting, or just admiring a beautiful sunset. Richard served his country in the U.S. Navy for two years, aboard the U.S.S. Hancock, which was anchored off the coast of Viet Nam, working in the intelligence division. Richard then met and married his wife of 36 years, Leigh Barfield, in Irving, Texas. In 1988, Richard and Leigh, with son Zachary, moved to Norman, Oklahoma. Shortly after moving to Norman, Richard met Don Baker, a sculptor, who was looking for a "wax chaser." Having no idea what wax chasing entailed, but needing a job, he decided to find out. Though Richard didn"™t have the experience necessary to get the job, he was so impressed with Don"™s sculptures that he went to an art store three times that day, buying clays until he found one with which he could comfortably work. For the next eight years, Richard taught himself to sculpt in his spare time. This was the beginning of Richard"™s art career and love affair with the ability to express and create through his artwork. In 1995, job related physical injuries forced Richard into time alone at home recuperating. He then began experimenting with mediums such as wood and sandstone. A member of the Coharie Tribe, located in Sampson and Harnett counties of North Carolina, Richard took great pride in and was inspired by his Native American heritage. In June of 1998, Richard entered his first Native American fine arts competition, the Red Earth Festival in Oklahoma City, where he was awarded 3rd place in stone sculpting. Carving from 200 million year old Oklahoma sandstone, in February of 2000, Richard introduced his "Spirit Guardian" series. These inspirational sculptures won numerous awards over the next years, including 2nd place at the Spirit of the People Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, 1st and 2nd place at the Tulsa Indian Arts Festival 2002, 3rd place for hand-formed sculpture at Red Earth 2002, 1st place in three dimensional at the Visual Arts of Norman Fall Show 2002 and 1st place in the 2003 Spring Show. Richard took great pride in being awarded 2004 Best of Show and Best of Category at Red Earth in Oklahoma City. Richard was loved and admired by all his family. Like the "pied piper," each generation of children wanted to follow him and be with him to share in his fascination and love of nature and life. Memories of Richard will be cherished, and his kind, loving spirit will be greatly missed. As Richard himself wrote, "When the land is loved by the people who inhabit it, their spirit becomes part of that land." Richard"™s spirit has always been and will always be part of God"™s earth. A celebration of Richard and his life will be held on Tuesday, July 14th on the decks of the Clear Bay Grill, overlooking Lake Thunderbird. Family and friends who would like to remember Richard are invited to join the celebration, starting at 7:00 p.m. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Richard "Brad" Bell please visit our Sympathy Store.