Necrology

Brian Dean Bell '60

Jun. 24, 1935-Aug. 14, 2022

Brian Dean Bell ’60, P’89 died on Aug. 14, 2022, in Geneva, N.Y. Born on June 24, 1935, in Warsaw, N.Y., he grew up in Geneva and came to Hamilton from Geneva High School. On the Hill, he majored in government and was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity. Although he matriculated in 1953, he was drafted after his sophomore year into the U.S. Army. He served for three years, including a stint in Korea. Returning to the College in the fall of 1958, he completed all coursework two years later, and thereafter he maintained his allegiance to the Class of 1960.

Acknowledging that he had “tended to ‘amble’ socially and academically” while at Hamilton, Brian managed to fail Professor Berrian Shute’s Music Appreciation course, leading Dean Winton Tolles to observe that he was “one of the very few people in the history of the College” to do so. Nonetheless, he was awarded the Winslow Prize in Greek as a freshman. In addition to his studies, Brian played lacrosse and football every year minus his junior year, and was a member of Block “H” Club as a sophomore. He participated in intramural touch football, which on one occasion resulted in one of his ears being partially torn off. He was also a member of Nous Onze.

In the fall of 1961, Brian met Mary Ann Sheldon, who was then a senior at the State University of New York at Geneseo. They were married that December, Mary Ann’s father having given his permission with the understanding that she would complete her college education. She did. They later had a son and a daughter.

Brian embarked on a career as a public school teacher, earning his teaching certificate at Hobart and William Smith Colleges following his graduation from Hamilton. In the fall of 1960, he began teaching mathematics at Middlesex Valley Central School in Rushton, N.Y. Two years later, he moved to the Mendon Center School and then to Pittsford Sutherland High School, both in Pittsford, N.Y. He retired in 1991. 

His first subject at Mendon was social studies, but thereafter he taught courses in American and European history both to general students and those who qualified for Advanced Placement courses. He conducted the latter as seminars with all students required to engage in part by role-playing various historical figures and thus confronting various points of view on an issue and, as his daughter put it, “actually walk in someone’s shoes.” One of those AP courses was titled Experiencing American History: A Participatory Advanced Placement Program; another was Vietnam: A Historical Perspective. Brian also served as district coordinator of social studies for five years beginning in 1975 and chaired the history department at Pittsford Sutherland. 

The high quality of Brian’s teaching attracted the attention of the University of Rochester, which awarded him its Master Teacher Citation for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching in 1983, thanks in large part to the advocacy of administrators, peers, parents, and students. The following year St. Lawrence University presented him with its first Master Teacher Citation. The latter award cited his reputation as “a dedicated professional and an exemplary teacher who demands excellence of himself, in academics foremost, but also in fiercely competitive volleyball. He asks excellence of his students, who find his courses in American history intellectually challenging as well as exciting.” The St. Lawrence award was presented by its president, W. Lawrence Gulick ’52, P’77, who had previously been the dean of Hamilton. Pittsford Sutherland also honored Brian by twice dedicating its yearbook to him. One of his former students eulogized him thusly: “He was first-rate in his knowledge and presentation, passionate about his craft, and a true class act. I honestly cannot imagine a better high school teacher.”

Stepping down from public school teaching, Brian turned his attention to lecturing on history at the Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, N.Y., and created the class Presidential Greatness: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly that made use of his active learning process. He taught courses at the college for 22 years, both in person and online. 

Beginning in the 1980s, when Mary Ann was the executive director of the Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion Historic Park, also in Canandaigua, Brian assisted her in her work, particularly in connection with the many events that took place there. He remained a voracious reader of historical studies, committed to maintaining his current awareness of the subject. In his 40th reunion yearbook, he noted his preference for “reasonable consumption of fine cigars, cognac, and my old friend Jack Daniels.”

In the course of time, Brian’s appreciation for his years on the Hill only increased. In his 25th reunion yearbook he wrote: “I have become increasingly aware over the years of the incalculable value of a liberal arts education in general and of my Hamilton education in particular.” In his 40th reunion yearbook, he further noted that “the four required years of public speaking gave me the ability and confidence to communicate to large and small groups of people, whether delivering a motivational speech, a history lecture, or numerous eulogies in front of hundreds of people for friends and loved ones.”

Brian D. Bell is survived by his wife, son, and daughter, Mary Beth Bell ’89. 

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