Charles Bell III

Charles Curry Bell, age 85, of North Conway, and previously of St. Paul Minnesota, Tonkawa, Oklahoma, and New York, died peacefully at Memorial Hospital surrounded by his loving wife Bilo and devoted friends, following an heroic 13 year battle with cancer.
During his long battle with cancer, his wife was constantly by his side. They used the time travelling to medical appointments to enjoy great conversations that were revelatory of his deepest personal thoughts and beliefs. Although life brought serious challenges, their love for each other remained steadfast.
At an early age, family members stimulated Charles' supple mind. His intellectual curiosity was piqued at an early age, his father, a surgeon, took Charles on hospital rounds; His Uncle John, an Indian agent for the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, engendered in Charles a life-long high regard for the plight of Indians. Years later, after moving to North Conway, he joined an Indian drumming group led by Jesse Red Horse of the Blackfeet Nation.
Charles had abundant gifts, including a fertile mind and spirit, and he dared to dream big. Finding High School too easy, when he was only 16, Charles walked into the Admissions Office at the University of Minnesota, and asked to be admitted to the college. After passing the admissions test with flying colors, he went on to distinguish himself as an avid learner with a keen and discriminating mind. By age 17, he was President of the student body. Later, he completed credits for a doctorate in Philosophy at The New School of Social Research in New York City, studying under such intellectual giants as, Leo Strauss the political philosopher; Hannah Arendt, the political theorist; and Kurt Riezler, the Philosopher and who became a mentor; all of whom had fled Nazi Germany.
Charles always considered life to be an exciting journey that would lead him to fascinating places and people. He loved to travel and to study other cultures; and those qualities provided him wi