MATERNAL NAMES
KELVIN RANKIN BELL 1907-1978
Kelvin Rankin Bell, the firstborn of Robert John Bell and Alice Maude Ryder, was born in Toronto, June 7, 1907,(1)(2)(3)(4)(6) one year after their marriage. Named for a respected minister Rankin (by his mother), and the horse that won the triple crown in 1907 (by his father), his life would be determined from the beginning. Dad was honest and hardworking, achieving goals that were unlikely for many like him. Unlike the previous generations with larger families, Kelvin would be the eldest of only two boys born to the family.
Life was hard for the family after the Kelvin’s parents married and moved to Toronto to make their life together, but his mother kept the family together in what I understand was a difficult marriage.
Kelly (as he would come to be known) loved school as a young boy and brought home excellent grades. He had a paper route to help at home as the family did not have the luxuries allowed some children.
Kelvin took responsibility early for his family, causing childhood fun to be fleeting. He dreamed of being an architect, but the family’s financial situation forced him to leave school early to help pay the household bills.
His love of baseball, like many of the Ryder boys on his mother’s side, was strong, and he was a natural. Had circumstances permitted, he may have made his career as a professional baseball player. In his youth, he pitched for a minor league in Toronto with rave reviews.
His family commitments and the need to support his mother, father, and younger brother prevented this.
He began working for Underwood Typewriter (later to become Olivetti), in the mailroom and retired after over 40 years of employ as senior vice president of finance with Underwood Canada and at retirement Secretary treasurer of Olivetti Canada. While in the employ of Underwood, he secured work for his younger brother William in the sales department.
Kelvin married his high school sweetheart Lilly McEwan, December 1 1926,(5) when the two were just nineteen and eighteen years old. They married in Toronto, while supposedly visiting a cousin in Niagara Falls, returning to their respective childhood homes for a year before they divulged their marriage. They made the announcement of their marriage was only made after my mother's grandmother, who cared for her, passed away.. At this point the couple moved in with Kelvin’s family and continue support his mother, and now ailing father and a younger brother.
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Kelly and Lillian had their first of four children, Kelvin Darcy John, born in 1928, at which point they moved into a house of their own. Their chosen child Penelope Frances did not become part of their life until 1942, but her life was brief. Two other children followed.
The family lived on Laurentide Drive in Don Mills, Ontario, in 1963, as per the voters list,(6) later to move to 4 Kestell Lane in the same development.
Kelvin and his wife, Lilly (Lillian McEwan), celebrated over 50 years of marriage in 1976. The event took place at Sir Sam’s Inn in Haliburton, Ontario, near their summer home on South Lake. Kelvin’s son, Darcy, and the two youngest daughters and their respective families were there to celebrate the joyous occasion.
north-view-of-south-lake-shoreline-from-our-dock-april-1957
VIEWS OF SOUTH LAKE
sunset-view-of-south-lake-from-the-cottage-july-1955
south-view-of-south-lake-shoreline-from-our-dock--march-1955
Kelvin died at the age of sixty-nine from a stroke while they were in their winter residence in St. Petersburg, Florida.(7) The family scattered his ashes over the Gulf of Mexico.. His widow Lilly lived on to age 91 and died at the home of her daughter November 29, 1998 and Kelvin’s daughters added his name to the gravestone, at the Bethel cemetery in Haliburton.(8) It serves as a marker of his death.
He is not with her in the grave, but remains with his first love in spirit.
Citations
(1) B. 1907 Bell, R. J. (Son), Birth announcement , appeared in Acton Free Press, 13 Jun 1907 , page 2 , column 1
(2) B. 1907 Bell Kelvin Rankin Archives of Ontario; Series: MS929; Reel: 185 Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913
(3) C. 1911 Census Place: 26 - Ward 1, Toronto East, Ontario; Page: 4; Family No: 47
(4) C. 1921 Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 89; Census Place: Ward 1, Toronto East, Ontario; Page Number: 2
(5) M. 1926 Bell Kelvin R/McEwan Lillian Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Series: MS932; Reel: 752 Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934
(6) C. 1931 1931 Census of Canada Note Library and Archives Canada. iSeventh Census of Canada, 1931/i. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2023. Series RG31. Statistics Canada Fonds.brFrom the collection of Library and Archives Canadabr De la collection de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada.
(7) Voters List 1963 Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980
(8) D. 1978 Florida Death Index, 1877-1998
(9) Bur. Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
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