Adiata DeVore Bell
In Remembrance
August 12, 1976 - November 22, 2023
Obituary
The heavens received an angel on November 22, 2023. Adiata Tesaye DeVore Bell of Brooklyn, NY, passed away at the age of 47.
Adiata was born on August 12, 1976, to John and Agatha DeVore in Syracuse, NY. Adiata received her education from Our Lady of Solace, Levy Middle School, and Nottingham High School. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies at The University at Buffalo.
After graduating in 1999, Adiata launched a 25-year career in entertainment production and educational television, including tenures at Burly Bear Network, Renegade Marketing, Broadway Video, Rainbow Media, Fuse, BET, and WNET PBS. For the last eight-and-a-half years, she served as a Budget Controller at WNET, where she supported the Kids and Media Education group.
Adiata met her husband, Chunjee Bell, in 2010. They married in 2018. But from the first moment, they both knew they were a perfect complement to one another. In 2018, they also welcomed their son, Taeji — Adiata’s greatest joy and her greatest gift to the world.
Adiata lived her life with enthusiasm. A film buff since college, she enjoyed theater, cinema, and the arts, both as a spectator and a producer. She loved to travel and had only begun her exploration of the world, with destinations such as Italy, Greece, France, and Jamaica.
An intelligent and curious person, always in pursuit for new adventures, she continued to learn throughout her life. She had something interesting, funny, or wise to share on any topic (sometimes she called these her Snapple facts). She committed herself fully — heart, body, and soul — to all her endeavors. She got the job done.
To know Adiata was to love her, as her many friends can attest. Her heart had an endless capacity for all the many people she befriended throughout her life, and she never failed to treat them with generosity and dignity. A deeply selfless person, she had the ability to make anyone around her feel special, seen, and loved.
Adiata is preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Elijah DeVore Jr. and Ethel Medice DeVore; maternal grandparents, Alfred Bijou and Elmonzo Cahn Bijou; uncles, Harold Gene DeVore and Lloyd Herman DeVore; aunts, Ethel DeVore Herring and Myrtle DeVore Fountenberry; cousins, Kristen Ariana Allen, Cory Allen, and Monique Allen; and her beloved cat, Nola.
Adiata is survived by her husband, Chunjee Bell; son, Taeji Bell; parents, John and Agatha DeVore (Syracuse, NY); siblings, Sundiata DeVore (Brooklyn, NY) and Mariama (Leroy) McClain (Syracuse, NY); sister-in-law, Meewha (Vincent) Bell (Miami, FL); nephews, Leroy and Jayvyn; nieces, A'niya, Azzuré, Ariana, and Jiah; many, many dear aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends; and her dog Bella.
