Bedford Davenport (Skip) Campbell
Bedford Davenport (Skip) Campbell, 83, of Selinsgrove, PA, passed away Friday, July 17, 2026, at Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, PA.
Skip was born November 27, 1942, at Montgomery, WV, and was the son of the late William Bedford and Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Thompson Campbell. He was the grandson of the late Boyd and Maude Lockridge Campbell.
Skip attended Lewisburg schools and continued instruction at Selinsgrove Center. Skip was diagnosed with special needs as a child and later determined to be autistic. His grandmother, Maude Lockridge Campbell, took a special interest in Skip and spent countless hours with Skip in his formative years. As a teacher, she knew how to work with children. With Skip, she used techniques that would be found in later years to be the correct steps for helping those dealing with autism. Her instruction stayed with Skip for his whole life, even after her passing in 1951. She left instructions that he was to be buried beside her in Rosewood Cemetery, and those wishes will be honored.
Skip exceeded expectations all his life in so many ways. He lived 4 times as long as the experts of the 1950s predicted and until the last few months of his life led a productive life. Anyone that knew Skip knew of his strong love for his home state of West Virginia and for autos of all years and models. Skip loved to tease and joke with those he loved. He worked most of his years at Selinsgrove, was an active and known member of the whole community, and an active church attendee. He became the “resident ambassador” for new families considering Selinsgrove. Skip persisted in living his life to the fullest despite limitations.
The family thanks the hundreds or perhaps thousands of staffers of Selinsgrove Center (he lived there 63 years) and the many members of the Selinsgrove community who visited Skip, took him to church, took him to car shows in Carlisle, PA, took him to the State of Fair of West Virginia, and on many other trips.
Other than his parents and grandparents, Skip was preceded in death by his uncles, Lacy Campbell, Newton Campbell, Brown Craig Campbell, William Thompson, and Eugene Thompson; and aunts, Charlotte Campbell Walker Carney, Janet Campbell Frey and Christine Thompson Webb. Cousins that preceded him in death, Jimmy Walker, Steven Campbell, Billy Walker, and Carol Walker Lagesse.
Survivors include cousins, Thomas W. Campbell of Lewisburg, WV; Mary (Bubbles) Campbell of St. Augustine, FL; Craig Walker of St. Anne, IL; Shirley (Crickett) Frey Morris of Richmond, VA; Arthur Frey of Leesburg, VA; Julia Lockridge Elbon of Elkins, WV; Robert L Campbell, Jr of Churchville, VA; Jane Campbell Karicofe Elliott of Greensboro, NC; and James H. Wood of Vashon, WA.
Funeral Service will be 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 9, at the Edgewood Presbyterian Church in Lewisburg with the Rev. Kristi Moore officiating. Burial will follow at the Rosewood Cemetery. A celebration of his life will also be held at Selinsgrove Center Chapel in Selinsgrove, PA, on Monday, August 10, at 2:00 p.m.
Please send online condolences by visiting www.WallaceandWallaceFH.com.
Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home in Lewisburg is in charge of arrangements.
