Nancy Jamison Bell

Nancy Jamison Bell died on December 1, 2020 at the age 79 of from Multiple Myeloma in Lubbock, Texas.

She was born on November 29, 1941 in Lakewood Ohio to Robert William Jamison and Phyllis Smith Jamison. She obtained her B.A. from Allegheny College in 1963, her M.A. from Northern Illinois in 1971, and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1973 and then became a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) at Texas Tech University from 1974-2016 where she served also as the department chair for several years.

While at Texas Tech University she was committed to principles of academic integrity and was an advocate for qualitative research. She mentored both graduate and undergraduate students as well as directing student internships in the community. Some of her many accomplishments during her tenure include the establishment of the Nancy J Bell Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Award and holding a rotating professorship in the department which was designed to promote high quality research. She also had many research publications and co-edited the book Adolescent Risk Taking with her husband Robert Bell.

She was big fan and supporter of music and art, especially of west Texas and Louisiana. She also loved to entertain and will be remembered with joy for both her larger celebrations for colleagues as well as smaller gatherings with close friends. She was beloved and will be greatly missed by her students, colleagues, friends, and family.

She is preceded in death by her husband Robert W Bell, and is survived by her children Colin and Leslie Bell, her grandchildren Cheyenne and Nicolas Bell, her step-children Shoshanah Dietz, Dennis Bell, and Timothy Bell, and her 7 step-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the charity of your choice to honor Nancy’s generosity and giving nature

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