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In Memory

Wendelin Bell

Wendelin Jean Bell of Concord, Massachusetts, died on Sunday, December 21, 1975, at Emerson Hospital in Concord.  She was 28.

Wendy was a native of Norwalk, Connecticut.  She lived in Ridgewood, New Jersey, for 14 years and graduated from Ridgewood High School.  At Oberlin College she majored in biology, and at Boston University she received a Master’s degree in education.  From 1971 until her untimely death, she was a teacher in the school system of Burlington, Massachusetts.

She was survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bell of Saddle River, NJ; two sisters, Mrs. Jennifer B. Sandoval of Los Angeles and Priscilla Bell of Columbus, Ohio; and two brothers, Douglas Bell of Greenville, SC, and Duncan Bell of East Lansing, MI.  A memorial service was held at the West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood.

 
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03/15/19 01:48 PM #1    

William Natale

It is somewhat ironic that although we were both biology majors, I got to know Wendy mostly from sitting adjacent to her in Intro to Art History.  I can easily transport myself back to that dimmed interior of Hall Auditorium, as paired "Kodachromes" of paintings or buildings were projected onto the large screen while I made faithful notes of the presenters' lectures.  Wendy was no less diligent, but she also seemed to nearly always have an insightful comment to share with me, sottovoce.   Over the semester it became apparent to me that it was one thing to master the "intellectual" side of the subject, but another to appreciate it.  Wendy had an artistic sensitivity that I could only hope to develop.  Decades later I recognize that she exemplified an Oberlin ideal, a truly "liberally educated" person at a time when that meant being well grounded in many disciplines and cultures.
 
On our first day of class, Wendy correctly observed that our text, Janson's classic History of Art, was itself a beautiful object, and it should not be defaced with underlining, highlighting, or the like, as had been my practice with other course books. That original copy of Janson (now supplemented by a much later edition) still graces my library shelves, where it does more; remarkably enough, I continue to consult it.  But ever since I saw the notice of Wendy's passing decades ago, it has been impossible to read its thankfully pristine pages without her coming to mind.  
 
It has been said that the healthiest approach to life is to "die young, as late as possible."  I'm sorry that Wendy was denied the chance to get beyond the first part, so that among many other things, she could attend the reunion.  I would have loved to pick up any of our conversations where they left off.

03/17/19 11:00 PM #2    

Victoria Howard (Myers)

I met Wendy my freshman year in Talcott and she became my roommate and one of my best friends throughout our years at Oberlin and beyond. Wendy had so many beautiful traits: she was very positive without being falsely so, she had a genuine curiousity about almost everything, she would persist in getting information that she wanted (before the internet!), and she would easily bring me and others along in her quests.   Wendy was also a wonderfully caring and supportive person, always there to help you figure out what to do about a problem or to help soothe hurt feelings or to give you positive feedback right when you needed it.  She had a great smile and a very good sense of humor which allowed us to have many fun times between late nights studying. Wendy lived life to the fullest and drew in those around her. It was hard to swallow the fact that such a vibrant person could die so young and she left a big hole in many of our lives.  I intermittently dreamt about Wendy for twenty years after her death, bringing her back to life in each dream.  Would that I'd had the magic to do so and that she could still be here.....I will always miss her.   

 

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