UM law students (from left) TreMarcus Roseman, Catherine Norton and Allison Bruff deliver a presentation at the School of Law. The Thomas A. Bell Scholarship Endowment will provide assistance for students with financial need entering the law school. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
OXFORD, Miss. – Students at the University of Mississippi School of Law will benefit from a new scholarship made possible by a planned gift that the late alumna Barbara Bell designated in memory of her husband, Thomas A. “Tommy” Bell.
Bell’s estate gift of $546,000 establishes the Thomas A. Bell Scholarship Endowment to provide assistance to those pursuing careers in the legal field.
“Law schools across the country are providing more scholarships than ever before,” said Suzette Matthews, director of development for the law school. “The funds from this contribution will allow our law school to remain competitive in that regard.”
Bell’s gift is intended to honor in perpetuity her late husband, who was a founding partner and president of Daniel Coker Horton & Bell P.A. in Jackson and an Ole Miss law alumnus.
“The School of Law greatly appreciates Barbara Bell’s estate gift,” said Susan Duncan, UM law dean. “Mrs. Bell’s gift will support deserving students while honoring one of our most accomplished alumni.”
The endowment bearing Bell’s name will fund an academic scholarship that will provide support to entering students who have demonstrated need as determined by the Office of Financial Aid. The School of Law Scholarship Committee will select eligible recipients and notify them upon admittance.
Selected students may retain the scholarship as long as they are enrolled in 12 hours in the fall and spring semesters or five hours in the summer semester and maintain a minimum cumulative 2.8 GPA.
Barbara Bell earned a bachelor’s degree in education from UM in 1948. During her time at Ole Miss, she was a member of Chi Omega sorority. She died in June 2017.
Following graduation and her marriage to Tommy Bell, she and her husband moved to Oxford, where she was a teacher at Oxford High School. The couple relocated to Jackson in 1963.
Tommy Bell was a member of the Hinds County, Mississippi State, Federal and American Bar associations, and served on the board of bar commissioners. He also taught in the Jackson School of Law, now the Mississippi College School of Law, for 14 years.
The Grenada native was a B-17 pilot in World War II, serving in Europe. He was recalled during the Korean War and served in the U.S. Army JAG Corps. He retired from the Army in 1969 as a lieutenant colonel.
They were active members of First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, where Barbara Bell taught Sunday school and served on the wedding and visitation committees. She also was honored with “The Value of a Life Well Lived” award. Tommy Bell was chair of the board of deacons at the time of his death in 1990.
Besides work with her church, Bell was a member of the Symphony League, the Rebecca Cravat chapter of the Daughters of the America Revolution, the National Society of Southern Dames, the One O’clock Luncheon Club and Chi Omega Wise Owls. She served as president of the Salvation Army Auxiliary, Pierian Literacy Club and Hinds County Lawyers’ Wives.
The Thomas A. Bell Scholarship Endowment accepts gifts from individuals and organizations. To contribute, mail a check, with the scholarship’s name in the memo line, to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655; or donate online at https://give.olemiss.edu/.
For more information, contact Suzette Matthews, development officer, at suzette@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1122.