"He was simply the ultimate, consummate professional," Bill King of Rivals Radio and WNSR said of Bell, his broadcast partner for 13 years. "Every day he got up a professional."

Bell, 73, died early Thursday morning at his Springfield residence following a 15-month battle with cancer. He was honored at a memorial service on Sunday at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Cross Plains.

He was born Bryan Bellar, but when he started his radio broadcasting career at age 19, he changed his name to Bob Bell. Eventually he worked his way into television, where he delivered news, weather and sports at WSIX and WNGE, now WKRN-2. He spent 25 years at the station.

"When I first came to Nashville, he was already entrenched," WTVF Sports Director Hope Hines said.

"There were two things that stood out about him. He as a true gentleman in every sense of the word, and he was a true professional."

Following his time on local television, Bell returned to radio on a full-time basis and also enjoyed a long run as play-by-play announcer for University of Tennessee pay-per-view football game telecasts. Bell hosted an extremely popular early-evening sports radio call-in show at WLAC, attracting listeners from several states with the station's 50,000-watt signal.

"I knew Bob for many years, dating back to my time as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt. And during my time at Tennessee, I worked very closely with him," former Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said.

"No doubt he was a professional in every way. He was quite a Tennessee fan, but he was also a pro. He had the ability to be honest in his evaluations of things without sensationalizing or embarrassing anyone. He was a giant in the profession. We've lost a real icon."

Bell's wife of 32 years, Patty, said fairness was his mantra.

"His passion was to get the facts right, which sometimes can be difficult," she said. "But he didn't jump to conclusions, and he always tried to be courteous to everyone.

"He also had a passion for UT. That press box at Neyland Stadium was his favorite spot in the whole world."

Former Tennessee and Vanderbilt assistant coach Doug Mathews, now a sports talk-show host, got into the radio business through Bell. He contends Bell approached his job differently than many radio personalities today.

"When I hooked up with Bob 18 or 19 years ago, you didn't have all the Internet sites that you have now, so doing a four-hour show took preparation, and Bob worked at it and knew what he was talking about," Mathews said.

"He wasn't there to be a talk-show host. He was there to give news to listeners, and he was always tremendously prepared. And, he was tolerant with callers, even those who were off-base. He afforded his listeners respect."

Bell was a Smith County native and a graduate of the Nashville School of Broadcasting.

In addition to his wife, survivors include three daughters, a brother and five grandchildren.