Obituary of Kathryn F Bell

Fran was born and raised in Philadelphia and, most recently, was a resident of Wesley Enhanced Living in Hatboro, PA.  She passed away on January 14, 2023, after a brief illness.  

She is survived by her 4 daughters, Cheryl Jolly, Liza Mattis, Suzan Ziegler, and Kathryn (Katie) Smith, as well as her grandchildren Will Murphy, Melissa Murphy, Christina Shafer, Jaclyn Ziegler, Jessica Smith, Steven Smith and her great grandchildren, Nova, Vega, and Aurora Harman, Charlotte Murphy, and Corie Shafer. Her grandson, Jake Ziegler, predeceased her.  

Fran’s love of animals and travel is only surpassed by her love of family.  Her daughters, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were an unending source of pride and she spoke of them often.  She passed on her passion for travel and when she was no longer able to do it herself, she lived through the family trips, always enjoying the pictures and stories.  Her love of horses began as a young girl with her first horse, Princess, and lasted a lifetime with many years of riding the Wissahickon trails. Fran relished her independence and quiet time, spending her time reading, crocheting, doing work seek, computer games, and scrapbooking.   She was a big fan of the game show network! 

More than anything, Fran loved visits from her family and would always express how happy she was to see them.  When leaving, we would all smile with her parting words, “Safe to home”.  Seems fitting to end with “Safe to home, Fran”.  

Rest in Peace.  A celebration of life will be held in April 2023.