LILLICE JUNE BELL
Dec. 6, 1935 – April 23, 2024
Lillice June Bell was born in Montgomery, on Dec. 6, 1935, to parents Sam and Marjie Bell. June died at 88 years old on Tuesday, April 23, at her residence. A Celebration of Life was held Thursday, May 2, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church with the Reverend Linda Suzanne Borgen officiating.
When June was in the third grade, her teacher wrote her parents a letter saying June was the most considerate and thoughtful child in her class and had “qualities of leadership”. That proved to be so true when she became an adult. After graduating high school at Sidney Lanier, she postponed going to college and instead obtained the job of bookkeeper at a local lumber company. She quickly rose in the ranks to become Office Manager and then Vice-President of the company. Through her leadership she became manager of the company’s hardwood flooring manufacturing plant, which employed 150 men. She stepped up production to the highest level. She was considered to be a very caring person to her employees and was highly thought of by them. She improved working conditions, helping her employees receive compensation and insurance benefits.
In the manufacturing of oak flooring, she could see the waste of lumber, and came up with the idea of manufacturing random widths of flooring which involved a way of using the leftover scraps. It proved to be a hit and became popular nationwide. When wall-to-wall carpeting became all the rage, she moved on to become a lumber broker selling lumber to furniture manufacturing plants, overseeing not only the Montgomery office, but also one in San Jose, Calif. She traveled all over the southeastern United States and at that time, was the only woman in the lumber industry. In 1969, she won the national award for “The Most Outstanding Young Woman in America”.
She then made the decision to attend college and earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, graduating “Cum Laude” from Auburn University. She obtained a Master’s degree, graduating “Summa Cum Laude”, also from Auburn. She went on to earn a Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology and became Grants Administrator at Troy University in Montgomery. As head of the grants program, she wrote more than four million dollars in grants for the university. She was instrumental in establishing a “student support system”, which gave students, whose parents never finished college, an opportunity to earn a degree.
After retiring from the university, she was a Grants Reviewer for the Department of Education and Department of Justice, determining which colleges could apply for grants for their various programs.
She was in such demand, she was at the top of the list of reviewers and made frequent trips to Washington, D.C. for that purpose.
June’s hobbies were fishing, playing board games, working crossword puzzles, watching Alabama football and being with her beloved dog, Freeway.
She was surrounded by loved ones during the length of her illness. She proved her teacher right. She was kind, considerate and generous: A true leader!
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Shiloh Cemetery Fund, 3561 Manningham Road, Greenville, AL 36037 or Southern Care Hospice, 501 East Commerce Street, Greenville, AL 36037.
Private burial for the family was held at Greenwood Cemetery, Montgomery, in the Bell family plot on Tuesday, April 30 at 10 am. She was interred next to her father.