Memorial service for Christopher Patrick Bell, age 76, of Decatur, will be Friday, July 20, 2012, 6:00 p.m. at Shelton Funeral Home Chapel.  The family will receive friends for one-half hour prior to service at the funeral home.  Interment will follow at a later date in Waveland, MS.

Mr. Bell, who died Tuesday, July 17, 2012, at Lawrence Medical Center, following a long battle with Parkinson's Disease, was born February 1, 1936, in Washington, DC, to Allen Franklin Bell and Doris Drew Bell.  He was preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers, Gerard Bell and Quinton Bell, both of Long Beach, MS.  Mr. Bell was a reporter for the Huntsville Times for 42 years and was also an active volunteer in the Decatur and north Alabama tourism industry.  He received numerous awards and recognitions throughout life, including a nomination for journalism's Pulitzer Prize.  Mr. Bell also served in the Louisiana Air National Guard.

He is survived by two sons, Charles Gilbert "Gil" Langley (Wendy) of Amelia Island, FL, and Roland Louis Langley (Dee) of Hartselle; and two grandsons, Aaron Kyle Langley of Pensacola, FL, and John Russell Langley of Hartselle.  

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorial donations be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1942.

Charitable donations may be made in Christopher's memory to the following organization:

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