Dr. Venton Lee Bell, Sr., passed away on Sunday, August 12, 2018. A native Charlottean, he was born on December 8, 1944, the only child of the late Dorothy Mae Bell Blue and the late Booker T. Lyles. He graduated from West Charlotte High School in 1962; Johnson C. Smith University in 1966; University of Notre Dame in 1972; and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989. He was an educator with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System for thirty-four years as a Teacher, Assistant Principal and Principal. After retiring from CMS, he taught for seven years at JCSU as an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics Department.

Venton is survived by his wife, Evelyn Renee Bell; a son, Venton Lee Bell, Jr. (Cathy); two daughters, Nina Yolanda Adams (Jeffrey) and Danielle Kenyatta Funderburk (Antonio), all of Charlotte; two step-children, Tara Young (Tim) and Gregory Kersey; two sisters, Hattie Hair (Jimmy) and Barbara Phillips, a brother, Robert Lyles (Shelia); the mother of his children, Dorothy A. Pride Bell; eleven grandchildren, Agassi, Sebastian, Venton III, Tiffany, Haylee, Jordan, Keyonna, Brian, Kobe, Aleah and Alexa; an aunt, Anniebelle Alexander (William); a brother-cousin, Gene Lyles; confidant, Robert Cannon; close friends Gene and Randy Sparks, Al Winston and Kenneth Alexander; and many other friends and relatives.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, August 18, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and the Memorial Service will be held at 6:00 p.m. Services will be held on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University, Biddle Hall, in the Gambrell Auditorium. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Johnson C. Smith University. Checks are payable to JCSU. Please include the name of Dr. Venton Lee Bell, Sr. in the memo and mail to JCSU Institutional Advancement, ATTN: Katrina Gordon, 100 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC 28216 or go online at https://www.jcsu.edu/giving/give_now.