Maryann Stoner-Bell

1943 - 2021

Maryann Stoner-Bell

Maryann Stoner Bell, 77, of Chambersburg and Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, our beloved matriarch passed away peacefully on Monday, April 19, 2021 surrounded by loving family.

She was born December 23, 1943 in Mercersburg. The daughter of the late Fredrick M. and Ida Lillian (Davis) Stoner, she graduated from James Buchanan High School in 1962 and earned her Associate's degree in Human Services from Hagerstown Community College in 2003.

Maryann worked at J. Schoeneman Inc. (Stanley) for over 25 years and retired from Franklin County Head Start in 2016. She volunteered at the Mercersburg Youth Center as a youth counselor continuing her dedication to the love and guidance of the children of Mercersburg and the surrounding area.

She enjoyed tracing her family's genealogy and was the family historian for not only her family, but for those she knew as well. She had a devout love for the Zion Union Cemetery, the 54th Regiment and Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. She believed that things would always get better if good people were working hard to ensure optimal results and she lived her life by working hard at everything she did while teaching others to do so as well. Maryann loved to travel and found an immense joy in going on cruises with friends and family so she did so often. She had a love for reading, history, black and white movies, and spending quality time with her grandkids.

More than anything, Maryann loved the Lord.

Maryann Stoner Bell was a faithful member of Bethel AME (Mercersburg) and later became a member of King's Apostle (Cove Gap) and Brownsville Church (Brownsville). She was one of the rare people who could intersperse the word of God into conversation freely because she didn't have to memorize the Word as she lived it honestly. All who knew Maryann were aware of her love of God and good people and many were blessed because she used her life as a true vessel of her faith. When she retired, she became busier because she had more time to focus on people. Her devotion to her family is well known and she spent as much time surrounded by them as possible. Not just her family, although they were always her priority, but her community at large. She loved you instantly just because you were a child of God and her hugs always came with an extra squeeze and a word of praise and encouragement. Ms. Maryann believed in giving flowers to the living. She made sure you knew when she was proud of you, when you were looking especially lovely and when she felt that you needed a soft place to be, a laugh, or a reminder to be gentle with yourself because nobody living is perfect. If you were blessed to know Maryann, you were blessed. Her guiding light and shining spirit will be missed by all. In short, Maryann was a life well lived.

Maryann Stoner Bell is survived by her loving husband, Eric Bell (Chambersburg, PA), her children, Chris Riley (Chambersburg, PA), Kim Kelly (Madison, NC), Eric Mitchell and Tracy Riley (Charlotte, NC), Lesley Riley (Germantown, MD), eight grandchildren, twelve great-grandchildren, one sister, Lurena Stoner (Bowie, MD), one brother James Stoner (Scottsburg, VA), and a host of cousins, nieces and nephews. Maryann is proceeded in death by her grandson, Daniel Kyle Kelly, and her siblings, Margret Frisby, Donald Stoner, Richard Stoner, Allen Stoner, Carroll Stoner, David Stoner, William Stoner and Leland Stoner.

Friends and Family are invited to attend Celebration of Life Services on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 12:30 pm at World Harvest Outreach in Chambersburg, PA officiated by Pastor Victor Johnson. The family will receive friends on Saturday, May 1 at World Harvest Outreach from 11:30-12:30 pm. Flowers may be sent to World Harvest Outreach 1090 Wayne Ave, Chambersburg, PA 17201.

*Interment will be held at a later date.

Please respect everyone's health by following all of the COVID guidelines.