Re: Lafayette Elementary School in the Eighties

07/22/26 - posted by REX BELL

Hi Robin -

She specifically didn't want any obituary or even a memorial service. We just had a family gathering and celebration of life, which is what she wanted.

If I were to write an obit, it would be as follows:

MARION BELL - ORIGINAL SF BEATNIK TURNED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER

Marion Bell was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She moved to SF with her parents in 1947 at the age of 20.

In the 1950's, she became immersed in the Beat Scene in SF's North Beach attending poetry readings, art exhibits, and circulating amongst people such as Allan Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. At that time she was also a member of the SF Actors' Workshop where she pursued a passion for stage acting. It was in the North Beach Beatnik scene that she met my father.

Shortly after I was born, my father left us and Marion raised me as a single parent, while we lived with my grandparents in the Sunset District.

In the early 1960s Marion worked as a secretary at KGO and KSFO radio stations. Driven to pursue a meaningful career, she earned her BA in education and a teaching credential from SF State in 1964. She taught as a substitute teacher in SF before taking longer term jobs in Hawaii and Los Angeles in 1966. We returned to SF in early 1967. She taught at Raphael Weil, Jose Ortega, and Sheridan Elementary schools before moving to Lafayette School where she remained for many years until retiring in the early 1990s.

Known as Mrs Bell to her students, she loved teaching and took a personal interest in their success. She especially enjoyed taking kids on educational field trips and emphasized a creative, hands-on approach to learning.

After her classroom teaching career, she remained very active through 30 years of retirement teaching piano, singing in the SF Seniors Chorus, making jewelry, and attending classes offered by Osher Life Long Learning. She was also a member of the SF Gem and Mineral Society.

A lover of people, Marion cultivated many friendships and was especially close to her immediate and extended family. She would always comment to me with excitement and joy when she'd run into one of her former students.

She passed away peacefully at her home in Midtown Terrace, SF at the age of 94. She is survived by her son (me), daughter in law, granddaughter, great granddaughter, and numerous nieces and nephews.