Brenda Marie (Gauthier) Bell

Brenda Marie Gauthier Bell - beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sibling, and loyal friend went from labor to reward on March 27, 2026. She was born on August 22, 1948 to Rosetta Bourgeois and Edward Gauthier in New Roads, Pointe Coupe Parish, Louisiana.

She was raised by her mother and dad, James Richardson, Sr. in Houston, Texas. A devout woman of faith, she joined New Hope Baptist Church in 1965. In 1967, she joined Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church. As an active and faithful member, she served as a Deaconess and Membership Clerk until her death.

Brenda was educated in the Houston Independent School District, attending Blackshear Elementary, Ryan Junior High School, and graduating from Jack Yates Sr. High School. After high school she continued her education at Houston Community College, University of Houston, and the University of Texas becoming a licensed vocational nurse.

She worked her entire career for the Harris County Hospital District with stints at Jefferson Davis Hospital, Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital, Ben Taub General Hospital, and Quentin Mease Community Hospital. For most of her career she worked as a labor and delivery nurse. She retired in August 2003.

Brenda met Leonard Bell as a teenager. She united in holy matrimony to Leonard Bell, March 9, 1968. They were blessed with two children, Schon and Antoy. Brenda loved her children and did not mind telling anyone she encountered about them.

She enjoyed traveling, spending time with her large extended family, and singing in church, but from her pew not the choir stand. Brenda was an avid reader and watcher of the ABC 13 News. She would read the obituary section of the newspaper every week in search of someone she knew and attend the funeral.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers John and Sherman, Sr. and sister Esther Richardson. She leaves to cherish many precious memories: her husband Len; children Schon Braxton (Boris) and Antoy Bell (Te’iva); grandchildren, Brenton Braxton, Anilah Bell, Avani Bell, and Ava Bell; family matriarch Joan Bell (Rev. W.R. Bell); siblings James Richardson, Jr., Shelia Richardson, Michael Richardson, Vanessa Richardson Bryant, Darryl Richardson, Sr. and Natalie Richardson. Her friends Marie Jones, Linda Kinchen, and Barbara Plattenburg Sands and a host of nephews, nieces, cousins, godchildren and friends.