Former U.S. Attorney General, GSW alumnus Griffin Bell dies at 90

AMERICUS—Today, four days after the passing of former Georgia Southwestern State University President Henry King Stanford, GSW alumnus the Honorable Griffin B. Bell died at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.  He was 90 years old.  Bell had battled cancer for most of 2008.

Georgia Southwestern presented Bell with an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree at its Fall 2008 Commencement exercises.

“Few persons other than heads of state have ever had the impact on American history that Judge Bell has had,” said GSW President Kendall A. Blanchard, Ph.D. “His contributions to the state of Georgia in general and Georgia Southwestern in particular would require volumes to recount.  We are saddened by his death, but feel privileged to have known him and be able to include him among the ranks of our graduates.”

Bell graduated from Georgia Southwestern in 1936, a class that included former Knight Ridder Newspapers executive and fellow honorary Doctor of Humanities recipient Don E. Carter. Bell later graduated cum laude from Mercer University Law School in 1948. Following graduation, Bell practiced law in Savannah and Rome, Ga. In 1953, he joined the noted law firm King and Spalding as a partner and became managing partner in 1958.

Bell was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to serve as a United States Circuit Judge on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1961. He served that post for 15 years until 1976 when he returned to King and Spalding. One year later, Bell was appointed as the 72^nd Attorney General of the United States under former President Jimmy Carter where he served until 1979.

In 1980, he headed the American delegation to the conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, held in Madrid. From 1985-1987, Bell served on the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on South Africa. He was also appointed Vice Chairman of President Bush’s Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform in 1989, and he was counsel to President Bush during the Iran Contra Investigation.

In addition to Bell’s successful law career, he remained a committed supporter to his Alma Mater. In September 2008, Bell helped raise nearly $500,000 for GSW at a University golf course naming ceremony in his honor.

Also made possible by a gift from Bell, Georgia Southwestern hosts the Judge Griffin B. Bell Lecture series. The Lecture Series is held each February, and brings to campus men and women who have lead successful careers and allows them to share their experiences with students, faculty, staff and the community.

During World War II, he met and married Mary Powell, who would be his wife until her death in 2000. In 2001, Bell married Nancy Kinnebrew, the widow of a family friend, Hulme Kinnebrew. She survives him as does son Griffin Bell Jr. of Atlanta, a daughter -in-law, Glenda Bell (wife of Griffin Jr.) of Atlanta; grandson Griffin Bell III and his wife Jessica Bell, both of Decatur; granddaughter Katherine Bell McClure and her husband Christian McClure, both of Atlanta; and five great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Griffin Bell Scholarship Fund of the Georgia Southwestern Foundation.

A grave-side service will be held at Oak Grove Memorial Cemetery in Americus on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 11 a.m.

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