Toby B Bell

Toby Bessie Bell of Orchard Cove in Canton, Massachusetts and Huntington Pointe in Delray Beach, Florida, a proud resident of Marblehead, MA from 1949 to 2012 is being laid to rest next to her beloved husband, Aaron Joshua, at the cemetery of her treasured Temple Israel in Peabody, Massachusetts on June 3rd, this Friday, just forty-five days shy of her 100th birthday. Her enthusiasm for “choosing life” never wavered throughout the arc of her passionate existence on this earth. Her eclectic intellect and innate capacities carried her through the turbulent twentieth century and across into the twenty-first. She was not only a first-generation English speaker, but the first Jewish baby born in East Gloucester. She was a graduate of Peter Bent Brigham Nursing School, a stalwart, military wife through the vicissitudes of World War II, a pioneer as a Jewish woman in a suburban seaside town, she raised her children with a pride in their heritage and a deep respect for the importance of family and community. Her Brighton High yearbook described her as “friendly girl with many friends”, a characteristic she carried forward throughout her days. She was a president of Hadassah, a president of Temple Israel Sisterhood, a member of the Juvenile Aid society, a nurse for the Red Cross, a volunteer at the voting polls, a keen and mostly successful Duplicate Bridge player, master of the crafts of knitting and needlepoint, a wonderful chef of all things kosher, and had learnt well from her mother, Sarah Leah Rosenberg, whose family had owned a fish store in Lublin, how to choose the very best fish by the look of its eye. She loved the beach and the intense smell of salt in the air as the tide shifted. She took comfort in gazing at the waves in the company of friends or family. She was a traditional woman with flair and maintained her values and panache in the face of the multiple challenges of her aging body. She was currently residing in independent living at Orchard Cove in Canton, MA where she engaged with great delight in making new friends, in deepening her connection to her Jewish heritage, and where she received the caring support that brought joy to her late years.

She will be deeply missed by her daughter and son-in-law, Esther Bell and Robert Saul Isenberg of Lexington, MA; her son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Morris David Bell and Dr. Raina Sotsky of Woodbridge, CT; her former daughter-in-law, Gail Stern of Old Orchard Beach, ME; her Grandchildren and their spouses, Sarah Rachel Isenberg and Abraham Paul Sarkis of Chattanooga, TN, Rebecca Gwynne Grant and Richard Alexander Grant, Dr. Julia Miriam Redding and Dr. David Lindley Redding of Freeport, ME, Benjamin Seth Sotsky Bell of San Francisco, CA, Zachary Adam Sotsky Bell of Oakland, CA, her great grandchildren: Finleigh Bell Sarkis of Chattanooga, TN; Mayer James Redding and Rya Lucinda Redding of Freeport, ME and her great step-grandchildren, Freya Beatrice Grant and Gloria Cecile Grant and her many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews here and in Israel. She was a light unto the generations.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, June 3rd at 11 AM at Temple Isaiah, 55 Lincoln St., Lexington, MA 02421. All are welcome with masks and preferably following a covid test. Burial will take place at the Temple Israel Cemetery in Peabody, MA following the service.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in her memory to Hadassah.

For more information or to register in the online guestbook, please visit www.stanetskyhymansonsalem.com.