Obituary of Sandra L. Bell

Sandra "Sandy" Louise Bell (Hess) Age 75, of Elmira NY, passed away on November 17th 2022 at home in her sleep. Sandy was born in Ogdensburg, NY to William "Bill" Hess and Kathleen "Kay" Hess (Sinno) on January 9th 1947. She was raised in Morristown, NY. She Graduated college from Mater Dei College-Ogdensburg. She spent all of her 7.5 decades on Earth being a wild child and free spirit. As a result of this, she was in a major car accident when she was in her early 20's, which would later impact the rest of her life. As she spent nearly a year rehabbing and learning to walk again, Sandy embraced the hippie life and culture in her younger days with the quote of "Peace, Love, and Power to the People". This saw her travel this great nation ranging from Cape Cod to California where she picked up many life experiences, her son being one of them. She returned to New York to give birth to her son, but her former hippie lifestyle continued to exert influences on her. Eventually, Sandy would complete her Bachelors degree, embrace sobriety and leverage her life experiences to become a Drug and Alcoholism counselor at St. Joseph's Rehabilitation Center. She would continue to give of herself, attempting to rehabilitate New York State inmates at various correctional institutions. In her travels, she came across her love of her life Matthew Bell and they were married in 2011. Upon Sandy's retirement, she continued to dedicate her life into helping others and their rehabilitation in her local community. Sandy was proud to have celebrated 38 years of being clean and I am sure would challenge those in the program to meet or exceed her accomplishments… just because that was who she was. Sandy is predeceased by her father (Bill), mother (Kay), and brothers (John and Jamie). She is survived by her husband Matthew Bell, her step-daughter Brandi Bell Dillard, her son Timothy Hess, her daughter in law Naoko Hess and her two grandsons William Hess and Andrew Hess. She is also survived by her sister Carolyn Johnson and brother David Hess and their families. Family and friends are invited to visit the Walter J. Kent Funeral Home, 858 Lake St., at Washington Ave., in Elmira on Tuesday, November 22 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm. Her Celebration of Life will follow at 1 pm; Pastor Michael D. Bell officiating. Many thanks go to those that have supported Sandy through her life. Especial thanks go out to Lois Miller, Amanda Joe, Saundra Hill, and the numerous friends in the fellowship.