College remembers stellar scholar-athlete killed in plane crash October 25, 2004 In a 2002 article in the "Presbyterian College Magazine," Curtis Bell spoke matter-of-factly about his favorite avocation. "I couldn't imagine never flying," Bell said.  "I realize I've been very fortunate to have the opportunity to fly." The 22-year-old's love of the air and his extensive training added to the shock on the PC campus Saturday as faculty, staff, and students learned of the 2004 graduate's death when the T-6 Texan airplane he was piloting crashed in Lexington County.  Bell's passenger, a 39-year-old Irmo man, also died in the crash. Although information on services in Bell's hometown and on campus were not yet complete, members of the Blue Hose baseball team gathered at the PC field Sunday afternoon to remember their teammate. "Curtis was not only an outstanding baseball player and a scholar, but he was what everyone of us strives to be -- the ultimate citizen," PC head baseball coach Elton Pollack said.  "Curtis will be missed, but never forgotten.  The legacy he left behind will live on in our hearts forever.  His family is in our thoughts and prayers." Hal Milam, a member of the college's communications office and the author of the college magazine's feature story on the young pilot, recalled Bell's humility. "I really enjoyed getting to know Curtis as I interviewed him for the story, although I have to admit it wasn't always easy," Milam said.  "He was very generous with the facts - the nuts and bolts of when he started flying, where he's been and so forth.  It was obvious that he loved to fly.  Beyond that, though, I sensed that he was a little uncomfortable talking about himself -- and it wasn't because he was putting up a wall or out of some kind of phony humility.  (Former PC baseball coach) Doug Kovash told me Curtis would never brag about flying and he was right." A physics major who minored in both business and math, Bell was the epitome of the PC scholar-athlete.  As the starting third baseman for the 2004 Blue Hose baseball team, Bell hit .362 with four home runs and 44 RBI to earn first team All-South Atlantic Conference honors.  He also was named first team CoSIDA Academic All-America and SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for baseball after posting a 3.94 grade point average in the classroom. He was named to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll during all eight semesters he attended PC. A licensed pilot, Bell was a third-generation aviator.  One of his earliest memories, he recalled, was standing at the controls in a plane's cockpit while being held by his grandfather, an aircraft mechanic and pilot from Carrolton, Ga.  The seed that was planted in that 5-year-old boy found strong roots and he dedicated himself to learning more about flying and airplanes. He had flown since the age of 13 and logged more than 2,000 hours as a pilot.  Bell soloed in a glider at age 14 and held the North Carolina record for altitude in a glider.  He and his father, Don Bell, owner of Bell Aviation in Columbia, S.C., crossed the Atlantic together.  Curtis also soloed to numerous cities in the United States, and flew the family's vintage airplanes in shows and exhibitions across the U.S. He was both instrument and multi-engine rated, and earned his instructor rating in 2001 to spend his summers teaching others to fly.  His talents were profiled last June on Fox Sports' national "NCAA on Campus" television show. A man of strong Christian faith, Bell formed a lifelong friendship with Marcus Corey of Farmington, Maine, when they were seventh-graders on a mission trip in Fiji.  Bell not only flew to Maine to visit his friend, but Corey spent the summer of 2002 with Bell in South Carolina training to earn his own pilot's license. "Marcus told me he believed God brought the two of them together to use flying as a ministry," Milam said.  "He marveled at Curtis' ability to connect with people - particularly older pilots who flew in some of the same kinds of planes that Curtis flew in shows.  That's a gift that seemed as important to him as being able to fly or hit a baseball. "I wrote that Curtis Bell was 'the ultimate teammate - willing to share his gifts and talents and faith with others,'" he added.  "As deeply saddened as I am to know that we won't have the opportunity to see Curtis become one of those old pilots himself, I believe that he remains forever our teammate at PC so long as we let our memories of his gifts and talents and faith take flight always."