Funeral Rites Pending Here For Verdi Man

Jack Bell of Verdi, whose expert writings on outdoor life were featured in national magazines many years ago, died in veterans administration hospital in Reno late Saturday, it was revealed today. He was 88 years old.

An expert on nature and an acute observer of the habits of birds, game animals and fish, Mr. Bell specialized in writing on bird life but his authorship covered a wide segment of the field of nature and he had written for the Saturday Evening Post, Outdoor Life and many other magazines.

Fishing Expert

He had made his home in Verdi since shortly after world war I and was a guide for hunting and fishing parties and taught many wealthy San Francisco outdoor sportsmen the art of fly casting. His knowledge of fishing conditions on the Truckee river was legendary in this region.

A veteran of two wars, Mr. Bell was a familiar sight in Armistice day parades in Reno for many years and it was an annual custom for himself and a group of his friends to gather after the parade to talk over old times.

Jack Bell was born in Pennsylvania Feb. 15, 1864, and spent his early years in the east. As a youth he enlisted in the Spanish-American war and was a non-commissioned officer the great part of that time.

Following his release from the army, he entered the writing field and served on the staffs of various newspapers, including the Denver Post, as a writer on nature subjects and as a general reporter. He was in Alaska during the gold rush days of the territory but soon returned to his writing chores.

Offers Service

At the outbreak of world war I he again enlisted in the army and served as a master sergeant with the signal corps in the fighting in France. He offered his services to the army in world war II but was rejected on grounds of age although his years devoted to the out of doors had kept him in excellent physical condition and it was noted at the time that his physical characteristics were those of a much younger man.

Coming to Nevada shortly after his return from army service he purchased a home at Verdi and had maintained his residence there since. He came here as Reno correspondent for the New York News and resumed contributions to magazines on nature subjects and writings of the out of doors. For many years he served as Washoc county deputy sheriff at Verdi and when he was on duty was noted for the size of the single-action Colt revolver he carried.

An attack of rheumatism in his advancing years had kept him from fishing recently, and he entered a local hospital several months ago, transferring to the veterans' facility shortly before his death.

A few years after moving to Reno Mr. Bell was married to Lola Bell, who had come here from New York, and she took over the correspondence duties for the New York News until her death about 1941. No close relatives survive.

Funeral arrangements will be announced later by the O'Brien-Rogers company.