After student Clifton Bell, 22, died over the weekend of March 30-31, his friends have shared their favorite memories of him. 

Junior Grant Wilson, roommate of Bell, said Bell was found dead in his bedroom at The Edge Apartments on the morning of March 31 by his mother, Amy Bell. 

The Faulkner County Coroner’s Office has not identified a cause of death or a time of death. However, Bell’s death was not suspicious and there were no signs of foul play. 

A funeral and visitation service was held April 5 for Bell at Smith Funeral Home in Arkadelphia. 

“He was very family-oriented. He loved his brotherhood and was very close with his friends,” Wilson said. “He’s just a very joyful person.”

Senior Samuel Games, another roommate of Bell, said he, Bell, Wilson and Houston Baber shared an apartment. 

Games said he met Bell freshman year of high school at Central Arkansas Christian. 

“We shared a lot of classes together and we ran track and cross country together. Then we came to college and we’ve been together for the last four years — at some point we stopped being friends and became more like he was one of my other brothers,” Games said. “He was an enjoyable person to be around and I loved being able to spend time being able to run or play soccer. Whatever we’re doing, I liked just being able to hang out with him.”

Danny Sullivan, a teacher at Central Arkansas Christian, has been a mentor for both Bell and Wilson. 

“Clifton was a joy to teach, an amazing classmate and a friend to more people than I can number,” Sullivan said. “His life centered around his faith and his family. He embraced the thought that there are two kinds of family — family you are given and family you choose. He cherished both. He loved to go on missions and always looked for those in need.”

Sullivan said he and Bell traveled together on a school trip to Europe in 2019.   

“He and I shared two powerful moments together as we prayed at the Church of the Weis in Germany and as we mourned at the Dachau concentration camp,” Sullivan said. “We texted often about how God sends us messages through such moments and about how we can be a message to others. He texted me just two weeks ago when he saw that I was back in Europe with another group of students. He hoped they would have as much fun as we had and hear those messages.”

Sullivan said Bell was an inspiration to other students because of his dedication to things he loved.

“He loved to run. He loved competing in cross country and track,” Sullivan said. “The current seniors began yesterday sharing memories of how much he mentored them as middle school runners. One said, ‘I would have quit but he encouraged me to keep going, keep working and know it would pay off.’”

Bell was a student leader for Chi Alpha, a ministry near UCA campus. 

Senior Jordan Hasan said, “Clifton Bell was a man of initiative. The last memory I have of him was courageously leading the Gethsemane prayer from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. after finding out no one was doing it.”

Sophomore Cavin Jones said Bell was a friend to everyone he met.

“He deeply impacted Chi Alpha and the culture of servanthood, joy, family and long-lasting friendship,” Jones said. “He indirectly impacted so many more just through his joy and kindness and impact on friends.” 

Senior Ashley Ward met Bell freshman year of college, and she said they “instantly clicked.”

“To have a friend like Clifton was like having God on Earth because of the way he lived his life,” Ward said. “He was a strong believer of Christ and pushed Sam [Games] and me to grow our faith with him and we all shared that connection we had through Christ. Anybody should be so lucky to have a friend like Clifton.”

Games said his favorite memory of Bell was them getting baptized around the same time. Games said he was baptized two years ago at the Bible Church of Little Rock, and Bell was baptized at Chi Alpha.

“We didn’t actually know we were both getting baptized around the same time, so both of our testimonials we shared were how each of us was just instrumental in each other’s life,” he said. “That’s been one thing I’ve been thinking about recently and it’s comforting to know that even though it’s sad and all of this hurts, he is now worshiping and living in the presence of God.”

Games said it didn’t matter what Bell did — he was always thoughtful. 

“Even if it’s just a small interaction, he was always just intentional about everything he did,” Games said. “Every Christmas and Easter, any holiday, he would always send a little note to every contact in his phone because he always wanted to make sure that there was someone who received a text to let them know someone is thinking about them.”