Story Tools • • Date of Issue: November 10, 2005 Obituaries Jesse 'Buster' Bell Jesse "Buster" Bell, 78, lifelong Cortez fisherman and member of a pioneer family there, died of leukemia Nov. 3. Graveside services were Saturday in Manasota Memorial Park, Bradenton. Brown & Sons Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. At his own insistence, he died in the house where he was born. Diagnosed with leukemia, he demanded to be taken home from the hospital and not fussed over, said a family member. He was co-owner with three brothers of A.P. Bell Fish Co., largest of two surviving fish companies in the historic fishing village. He came to the fish house every day, said others at the firm, and drank great amounts of coffee before heading for the dog track in Sarasota. "He did two things, fished and went to the dog races," said the family member. He was a commercial fisherman for 60 years, and captained the Warren Jr. for 20 years. The only time he took away from fishing was U.S. Army service in World War II and again in the Korean War, where he was a sergeant. The Bells are a pioneer Cortez family, Buster’s father Aaron P. arriving in 1914 and marrying Jessie Fulford, of another pioneer family. They had seven children. Surviving are brothers Walter and Calvin, both of Cortez, and Chester and Calvin of Bradenton; daughter Deserie "Gail" Assante of St. Petersburg; and several nieces and nephews. Benjamin DeMott Benjamin DeMott, 81, professor of English emeritus at Amherst College, died Sept. 29 at his home in Worthington, Mass. He was a winter resident of Anna Maria. Born in Rockville Centre, N.Y., DeMott studied as an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University, where he received a degree in 1949. He received a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1953. He was married in 1946 to Margaret Craig, who survives him, as do four children and several grandchildren. DeMott taught at Amherst from 1951 until his retirement in 1990. A trenchant observer of the American scene, DeMott wrote several works of cultural criticism, including Junk Politics: The Trashing of the American Mind (2005), Killer Woman Blues: Why Americans Can't Think Straight about Gender and Power (2000) and The Trouble With Friendship: Why Americans Can't Think Straight about Race (1995). When The Imperial Middle: Why Americans Can't Think Straight about Class, was published in 1990, Barbara Ehrenreich praised it in The New York Times as "imaginative, challenging and a pleasure to read. For anyone ready to cut through our collective delusions and begin the long overdue talk about class, there could not be a more congenial conversationalist than Mr. DeMott." DeMott recalled his style of teaching in an essay titled "English and the Promise of Happiness," published in 1991, shortly after his retirement from Amherst. "As for methods: they are simplicity itself. The armory boasts a few conversation-generating questions, and little else." A prolific writer, DeMott was known as a sharp social critic. His essays and reviews appeared in The New York Review of Books, Harper's, Esquire, Saturday Review, The Atlantic Monthly and Life, among many others, here and abroad. Lloyd George Eder Lloyd George Eder, 90, of Bradenton, died Nov. 1. Born in New York City, Mr. Eder came to Manatee County from Savanna, Ga., in 1967. He was retired as general manager of the Bradenton Herald in 1975. He was a graduate of Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a captain in World War II. He was in advertising sales for the St. Petersburg Times and general manager and vice president of the Savanna News. He was a member of the Island Players board of directors. He was a member of the Rotary Club. There were no services. Brown and Sons Funeral Home, 43rd Street Chapel, was in charge of arrangements. He is survived by wife Dorothy Rose; son William of Portland, Ore.; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Gaylord Donald Schavey Gaylord Donald Schavey, 87, of DeWitt, Mich., and Holmes Beach, died Oct. 22. Born in St. Johns, Mich., Mr. Schavey was retired from Motor Wheel after 32 years. He was a World War II veteran with the Third Armored Division in Northern France, for which he received a Purple Heart. He was a lifetime member of VFW Post 3039 in Farwell, Mich., and a member of DAV Wilson & Blackmer Chapter 105 in Lake, Mich. Memorial services were Oct. 26 in Lansing, Mich. Memorial contributions may be made to the VFW National Home for Children, 3573 S. Waverly Road, Eaton Rapids MI 48827. He is survived by wife Marie Evelyn; daughter Karen of Lansing; sons Dennis of Holmes Beach and Ronald of East Lansing, Mich.; brother Lewis of St. Johns; sisters Vera Ward of Kingsley, Mich., Mabel Beck of Maple Rapids, Mich., and Mildred Roof of St. Johns; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Beth Ann Scheible Beth Ann Scheible, 46, of Bradenton Beach, died Nov. 1. Born in Greenbackville, Va., Mrs. Scheible moved to Florida 23 years ago and to Bradenton Beach 17 years ago. She was a homemaker and volunteer at Anna Maria Elementary School. Memorial services were in Greenbackville Nov. 6 and will be held locally at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria. She is survived by husband Frank S.; son Joshua C. of Bradenton Beach; stepson Stan; stepdaughters Kristin M. Townsend and Lori J.; and seven grandchildren.