For Jerome C. Bell Jr., life had two priorities. There was family, and there was the Marine Corps, and it went in that order, in descending order.
That life ended Sept. 19 when the Marine sergeant and father of three was killed during battle in Afghanistan.
Bell, 29, formerly of Throop, had previously served two tours of duty in Iraq.
“He was so dedicated. Jerry loved being a Marine,” Bell's aunt Jodi Morgenthaler said Monday afternoon. “But the most important thing to him was his family. That was number one.”
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Bell was supporting combat operations in the Farah Province when he was killed.
He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, according to the department.
Morgenthaler said the family understands that Bell was in the front passenger seat of a convoy truck when two of the vehicles were attacked.
Morgenthaler said she believes he last talked with his parents, Jerome Sr. and Tammy Bell, on Sept. 7, Grandparents Day.
“I think this really hits close to home for the whole community,” Morgenthaler said.
Bell grew up in Throop, where he met his high school sweetheart, Melissa Nowak, who he would eventually marry. He was a 1997 graduate of Dana L. West High School in Port Byron, and he had decided to join the Marines in 1996.
He had three children: two daughters, Katrazyna, 9, and Taylor, 8, and a son, Jerome III, 3. Jerome and Melissa had been married nine years and lived in Twentynine Palms, Ca, where he was stationed.
A sister, Stacy Zimmerman, and a brother, TJ Bell, also survive him.
Morgenthaler said Bell came from a big family that “does everything” together.
Because of this, he was able to enjoy the “simple things” in life, such as cowboy hats and Chevy trucks, she said.
“Everything for him was about his family,” Morgenthaler said.
Bell recently took a year off from the Marines after his second tour, she continued, to be home with his children.
But Bell was a Marine and he returned to service and left for Afghanistan in March, Morgenthaler said. He was scheduled to return home in November, she said.
“He wanted to be back in the Marines, and that is what he did,” Morgenthaler said.
Bell will receive a military service, and is expected to be buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Fleming. Cheche Funeral Home will handle the arrangements.
Bell, 29, formerly of Throop, had previously served two tours of duty in Iraq.
“He was so dedicated. Jerry loved being a Marine,” Bell's aunt Jodi Morgenthaler said Monday afternoon. “But the most important thing to him was his family. That was number one.”
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Bell was supporting combat operations in the Farah Province when he was killed.
He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, according to the department.
Morgenthaler said the family understands that Bell was in the front passenger seat of a convoy truck when two of the vehicles were attacked.
Morgenthaler said she believes he last talked with his parents, Jerome Sr. and Tammy Bell, on Sept. 7, Grandparents Day.
“I think this really hits close to home for the whole community,” Morgenthaler said.
Bell grew up in Throop, where he met his high school sweetheart, Melissa Nowak, who he would eventually marry. He was a 1997 graduate of Dana L. West High School in Port Byron, and he had decided to join the Marines in 1996.
He had three children: two daughters, Katrazyna, 9, and Taylor, 8, and a son, Jerome III, 3. Jerome and Melissa had been married nine years and lived in Twentynine Palms, Ca, where he was stationed.
A sister, Stacy Zimmerman, and a brother, TJ Bell, also survive him.
Morgenthaler said Bell came from a big family that “does everything” together.
Because of this, he was able to enjoy the “simple things” in life, such as cowboy hats and Chevy trucks, she said.
“Everything for him was about his family,” Morgenthaler said.
Bell recently took a year off from the Marines after his second tour, she continued, to be home with his children.
But Bell was a Marine and he returned to service and left for Afghanistan in March, Morgenthaler said. He was scheduled to return home in November, she said.
“He wanted to be back in the Marines, and that is what he did,” Morgenthaler said.
Bell will receive a military service, and is expected to be buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Fleming. Cheche Funeral Home will handle the arrangements.
