John David Bell

John David Bell, 69, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away on Monday, February 5, 2024, at Park West Hospital in Knoxville. John was born Sept. 26, 1954, in Sheridan, Indiana, to Marilynn and John Bell, the oldest of three children. He graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, in 1977, and earned a Masters Degree in Physics in 1984 from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
While at Earlham he met Sharon Herb of Branchville, New Jersey. They married in 1978 and moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he worked for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Computational Sciences and Engineering Division. Until his retirement, John provided programming, data management and analytic support for a variety of research projects, including projects in fusion energy, and the U.S. Department of Energy's ARM Archive, a "library" of data used for climate research worldwide. The family attended West Knoxville Friends Meeting and Kern Memorial Methodist Church.
John was an avid volleyball player, and an active supporter of AYSO and competitive youth soccer. He will be remembered for his keen intellect, wry sense of humor, and long discussions on politics and other subjects.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon, his children, Timothy Sergio and Blanca Estela, and two granddaughters, Zenaida and Nazeah. He is also survived by his 91-year-old mother, Marilynn W. Bell, of Westfield, Indiana; a brother and his wife, Dan Bell and Mathilda Navias, of Rochester, NY; and three nieces.
Memorial Services will be held February 22 at 3:30 PM at Kern Memorial Methodist Church in Oak Ridge and February 24 at 3:00 PM at West Knoxville Friends Meeting in Knoxville.