Merleen Agnes Bell Campbell
Campbell Gains
Angel Wings
(1938-2025)
Merleen Agnes Bell Campbell was born in Rainelle, WV, November 30, 1938, when Artie Shaw’s Begin the Beguine was at the top of the charts. Just 36 days shy of her 87th birthday, she lived life to the fullest. Wife, Mother, Founder, Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Musician, Cancer Survivor, Artist, Gardener, and Grandmother.
She met John L. Campbell, Sr., “Johnnie” at Rainelle High School, when she was 12 and he was 16. He was double promoted in school and on his way to college. Little did they know, five years later they would be wed, have a son and beginning a life in Sutton, WV.
Merleen was multi-faceted and throughout her life she wore many hats, figuratively and literally. If you knew her, you knew she had a hat, shoe and accoutrements for every occasion. If she wanted to learn something, she was adventurous, committed and learned it better and took it up a notch. She encouraged others to do the same.
Her first business was The Pet Palace, where she groomed her schnauzers and others. When the court district that John worked in grew, she was ready. She was an Official Court Reporter for the 3rd, 14th and 32nd Judicial Circuits for 27 years until retiring and continued her freelance court reporting firm, Verbatim Ink. Verbatim Ink got its start in 1984, when she ordered two personal computers and the manual from IBM sans any computer class. When voice recording technology Audioscribe, integrated with computers for court reporting, she was at the forefront of utilizing the technology. She appeared in numerous articles on the technology and enjoyed being a reference for legal professionals.
She was a 51-year member and lived the Sutton Woman’s Club (“SWC”) motto: “Give the world the best you have and the best will come to you.”
Other organization and fundraising events via SWC include The Braxton County Regatta and Beauty Pageant (1969 – 1986), construction of the new Sutton Library and Saving Our Sisters in 2006 – a fund she created under the auspices of the Sutton Woman’s Club that paid for mammograms for women in Braxton County.
Always a supporter of the creative community growing in Braxton County, she was a founding member of the Hillbilly Players (later Landmark Studio for the Arts) and board member. She performed in and directed several plays, to name a few of her favorites. Musicals: Nellie Forbush South Pacific, Dolly Levi, Hello Dolly, Madame Tiang in The King and I, Sister Hubert in Nunsense and Nuncrackers. Drama: Blanche Debois Streetcar Namer Desire. The Original Penny in You Can’t Take It With You; and Directed: Count Dracula: The Musical? And Beauty and Beast, Really!
Through these times, she hosted and supported John, Sr.’s political endeavors as a member of the 71st House of Delegates and Braxton County Board member. She was elected to Sutton City Council in 1990, and was a member of Eastern Star, Judy’s Garden Club and Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church.
In her retirement, she focused on family, travel and creative projects. Drawing portraits, her Make-a-Memory creations of greeting cards, travel jewelry and more generated profits for Saving Our Sisters. She loved playing the piano and played her final Easter service in 2023.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Charles; sister, Judith Irene; her daughter, April Dawn; her son, J.L. Campbell, Jr.; and husband, John L. Campbell, Sr.
She is survived by her brother, Walter D. (‘Sonny’) Bell, Jr. (SHS ’69 graduate), and wife, Lyn, of Mesa, AZ; sister, Dolores Ann Oberer and husband, Carl, of Sebring, FL; daughter, Caitlin Renée Campbell of Santa Monica, CA; granddaughters; Courtney and her husband, Drew Crouch, of Raleigh, NC, Madison Campbell, and fiancé, Logan Robertson, of Glasgow, KY; Jan Funderburk and Phillip Dennison, of Sutton, WV; and two great-grandchildren; Kai Campbell Crouch and Mac Campbell Crouch of Raleigh, NC.
A Celebration of Life will take place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at the Elk River Inn, Sutton, WV. Flowers and living plants welcomed for the Celebration of Life.
Read the full obituary of Merleen Campbell at www.roachfuneralhome.com.
Submitted by Roach Funeral Home of Gassaway, WV.
