Diane Ator Lemmon Bell

Carolyn Diane Ator Lemmon Bell passed away peacefully on May 23, 2026, after a short battle with cancer.

Diane was born on August 4, 1943, in Galesburg, Illinois to Norman and Geneva Ator. After graduating from Galesburg High School, she moved to Utah and enrolled at Stevens-Henager College, where she developed the administrative and clerical skills she would use throughout much of her career. She worked at several companies as a secretary and administrative assistant until her retirement.

She married Kay Lemmon in the Salt Lake Temple on November 6, 1964. They shared 46 years of marriage and raised two sons before Kay's passing in 2010. In 2013, she married Keith Bell, and together they built a life centered on faith and service.

Diane was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her testimony of Jesus Christ guided the way she lived, served, and loved others. One of her greatest passions was genealogy and family history work. She found great joy and peace in attending and serving in the temple often.

Diane and Keith faithfully served missions together, including at Martin's Cove and the Bishops' Storehouse, where they found joy in serving others and strengthening their testimonies.

Above all else, Diane loved her family. She was a caring mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend whose kindness, steady faith, and quiet strength touched the lives of many. She created a home centered on love, service, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Diane also left her family a remarkable and lasting gift through her journals and daily writings. For the last 50 years, she faithfully recorded the events of her life, her testimony, family memories, and personal reflections, literally filling volumes. Her words preserve not only family history, but the heart and soul of the woman her family loved so dearly.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Norman and Geneva, her husband Kay, and her brothers, Brad (Gloria) and Boyce (Linda). She is survived by her husband, Keith; her sister, Marilyn (Jim); her sons, Todd (Rebecca) and Troy; along with her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family, and dear friends who will cherish her memory and the example she set.

Though her family mourns her passing, they find comfort in the knowledge that through the Savior Jesus Christ and the eternal blessings of the gospel, families can be together forever.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 30, at 11:00 a.m. at the River 7th Ward, 1570 West 11400 South, in South Jordan. A viewing will be held prior to the funeral from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. Interment will be held on Tuesday, June 2, at the Salt Lake City Cemetery at 1:00 p.m.