Bell enjoyed party after the fact

The late Griffin Bell, who passed away Monday, made every gathering special. Each time family and friends came together for a holiday celebration or dinner party, the South Georgia native, who served as attorney general during the Carter administration and worked for six decades at the prestigious King & Spalding law firm, riveted the crowd.

“It made every Christmas, every birthday, every Thanksgiving,” recalled his granddaughter Katherine Bell McClure.

“He held court every time, and we listened.”

Several weeks before his death at age 90, a group of 150 friends and relatives got together to celebrate the release of Bell’s book “Footnotes to History: A Primer on the American Political Character.” The book was edited by John Cole of Mercer University Press.

Bell’s health did not permit him to attend the Dec. 11 event, sponsored by Dorsey Alston Realtors and held at the Grey Parrot Gallery, but he was up on the planning and coordination, his granddaughter said.

“Grandpa set goals for himself, always,” McClure said. “Once he got sick, those goals kept him going.”

She and her brother Griffin Bell III were the hosts of the reception. Guests included Bill Lummus, Lem Hewes, Margaret and Tom Hall, Mary Close, Bob Hicks, Mark Dodson, Alice Brown and Dorsey Alston Realtors Jody Abstance, Anne Morris, Spalding White, Ethel Wotton and Jody Weatherly.

In an interview with the AJC’s Rosalind Bentley a few days before the event, Bell, who had been diagnosed with nontreatable pancreatic cancer, said he was at peace.

“I’ve had a long life, and I’m not in any pain,” the statesman said during that final interview.

A few days after the event, McClure visited her grandfather and took photos from the evening.

“He went through the pictures and gave me the history of each and every person there,” she said.

A graveside service for Bell was held Wednesday at the historic Oak Grove Cemetery in Americus. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, 2715 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta.

Here and there

The annual Taste of Love gala, benefiting the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia, is planned for the evening of Jan. 31 at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. Guests will enjoy gourmet dining with wine pairings, live music, silent and live auctions and dancing. WSB-TV anchor Justin Farmer is the master of ceremonies. Tickets are $225 each, $2,250 for tables of 10 or $2,700 for tables of 12. Pam Murphy chairs the gala each year. Call 404-527-7155 or see www.epilepsyga.org for information… . The Owen Lawrence home furnishings store played host to a recent fund-raiser for the Atlanta Humane Society. It was the store’s third annual evening of shopping for AHS donors and supporters. Enjoying hors d’oeuvres and shopping for the paws cause were Cindy and Bill Voyles, Kay and Ron Quigley, Susan Gordy and Sally White.

butterfly@ajc.com