Micah Harris Bell

Micah Harris Bell Micah Harris Bell was born on September 5, 1979 to Gary Thomas Bell and Cherri Lynn Bell at Fremont Hospital in Yuba City. He was a beautiful baby, and the baby of our family. Soon it was evident that he was his father's son; they shared the same birthday and could have doubled for each other had they been the same age. From the time Micah was a young boy, he knew he was destined to be a farmer just like his dad and grandfather. Like all of us boys had, Micah rode for hours with dad on the old squeaky tract D8 Caterpillar, falling asleep under the heat of the sun only to awake to have his shoe laces tide to the controls of the tractor. "To keep you from falling off," dad would tell him as he awoke and began freeing his shoe laces. Soon he began learning to operate the tractors himself, and he mastered them all except for dad's harvester, of course. Micah loved being a farmer, and by the time he was ten, he saw himself as an equal to his dad and his grandfather, for anybody who knew him, knew he was an old man by that time. He learned everything he could about farming from his dad and grandfather, and loved to go to equipment shows and attended as many rice related meetings and luncheons as he could. He loved being a farmer, and he loved being among the fields and orchards of the North valley. Probably before he could write his name, Micah had a .22 caliber rifle under his arm because it was too long to put up to his shoulder. Micah was a true marksman, and he was one of the best shots I have ever seen. He wasn't just good with a rifle and shotgun, but rivaled most men and women with a pistol and revolver as well. Long before he was old enough to hunt, he would wake up while it was still dark, and in the near freezing rain and wind, he would go duck hunting with his dad just to be out there. For Micah's eighteenth birthday, his sister, Monica, gave him his first Labrador, a big strong Black Lab named Gunner. Micah spent hours with his brother in law, Ryan Yartz, working with Gunner, and Gunner's brother, Strike. Gunner would run alongside his truck for miles around the rice fields and swim for hours in the irrigation ditches. They spent many morning hunkered down in and around the blind waiting for the ducks to come. They had a lot of great hunts together, and Micah missed Gunner deeply, as he laid Gunner to rest earlier this year. Since Micah was young, he would go into the hills outside Paso Robles hunting wild pigs and deer with his old hunting buddy and golf pro, John Wapple. Micah loved the deceiving gentle rolling gold hills of grass, star thistle, and cat's tail that are laced with rattle snakes and steep ravines hiding shear rocks waiting for the unsuspecting to step off. They would drink J. Lohr and spend hours around the camp fire reliving Micah's seven hundred yard shot he had made while on the move. One year, a good o'boy from Australia named Bradley Orszaczki went hunting with Micah and John and the boys. Bradley was an avid hunter and outdoor writer for Australia's top selling hunting magazine "Shooter." Later that year Bradley wrote an article about his hunting experience with Micah, and in it, described just one Micah's great shots, "When I caught a glimpse of its big shoulders, heavy head and scruffy appearance I knew we had a big boar to deal with, but we couldn't fire safely and had to wait for him to get out in the open. Moments later he was in the clear and Micah quickly shot off a raking 180gn Nosler Partition from the .300 Ultra Magnum that dumped the boar on the spot. It was a great running shot and none too soon as we all were ready to drop the hammer on the big pig." Micah was a great athlete. When he was sixteen, he was able to squat over four hundred pounds and bench press over three hundred. He played baseball and football, and during Micah's senior year in football, he played both offense and defense, including special teams. He would only miss a play to consult with the coach, and he played more than half of the season with a broken hand. Micah was made Most Valuable Player that football season, and his name was added to the trophy with those players who came before him. Micah traveled the United States doing communication jobs in his early twenties waiting for his turn to farm full time, spending a week or more in places like Chicago, Illinois and other cities on the East coast. After our brother Ryan passed away, Micah took his rightful place, for which, he had been preparing for his entire life, farming with our dad. Micah was a good farmer, a hard worker, and he and my dad knew what needed to be done without one having to tell the other. They worked hard together and were a successful together, as they helped Bell Farms grow just like his grandfather and dad did before him. In 2006, Micah began dating his childhood friend, Jennifer Hickman. Soon, Micah and Jen were inseparable, and it was apparent Micah had fallen in love. Micah and Jennifer loved spending time together: getting cozy and watching movies together, traveling the North coast together, going to Jennifer's cabin on Donner Lake, and having Jennifer bring him lunch out to the ranch. On April 10, 2009, Micah had Jennifer bring him lunch to the field he was working. Getting ready to eat, Micah had Jennifer reach into the center console of his truck where he had Jennifer's engagement ring waiting. When Jennifer turned around, Micah had one foot up on the John Deere, from which, he proposed to Jennifer. On June 12, 2010, Micah and Jennifer were married outside Chico on the river in Butte Creek Canyon. It was a beautiful wedding and fitting of our young prince of the Great Valley Province. Micah was a great brother, son, husband, uncle, cousin, and friend, and he was always quick to put a smile on your face. After our brother Ryan passed away, Micah called my mom every day with few exceptions. He worried about us all and loved all of his nieces and nephews dearly. On the morning of August 12, 2011, Micah went silently in the night. He is sad no more, standing next to our brother, as they watch over us all. Micah is survived by his his wife Jennifer, father Gary, his mother Cherri, his brother Chris Morris, his sister Monica Morris, and his loving family and friends everywhere. I am yours for all eternity. I am the Alpha and the Omega: the One who is and was and is to come. The world you inhabit is a place of constant changesâ€"more than your mind can absorb without going into shock. Even the body you inhabit is changing relentlessly, in spite of modern science's attempts to prolong youth and life indefinitely. I, however, am the same yesterday and today and forever. Because I never change, your relationship with Me provides a rock-solid foundation for your life. I will never leave your side. When you move on from this life to the next, My Presence beside you will shine brighter with each step. You have nothing to fear, because I am with you for all time and throughout eternity. Service will be held at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 1390 Franklin Road in Yuba City on Thursday, August 18th at 10:00am. Graveside services to follow at Sutter Cemetery. Family and friends are welcome for a reception at Ruthy's Restaurant at 229 Clark Avenue in Yuba City immediately following graveside service. Send Condolences at www.appealdemocrat.com