Clifford F.S. Bebell

Clifford F.S. Bebell February 10, 1916, to January 28, 2014 - almost 98 years! A Celebration of Life service will be held for Cliff at Mount Vernon Country Club on March 1, 2014, at 2 pm. All are invited, in person or in spirit. Cliff's Life Story: Clifford Bebell was born in Hollis, New York City, on February 10, 1916. His growing years were in New York, New Jersey, and Toronto, Ontario - following his father's career as an entrepreneur and builder. Clifford graduated from Princeton University in 1938, majoring in mathematics. He earned a Master's Degree at Columbia University, Teachers College, in 1939, preparing to be a math teacher. The Great Depression made finding a position nearly impossible for a new teacher. He applied everywhere he could, to no avail. Eventually, he learned of an opening for a mathematics teacher in the American School in Japan, applied, and was hired by letter for the job - becoming the first person in his Teachers College class to secure a position. Japan was at war in China, and relations between Japan and the United States were deteriorating. He went to Tokyo anyway. After a year there, with war rumors increasing, he tried to return to America by way of Manila, but was still there when the Japanese invaded. Clifford spent 38 months in internment in the Philippines during the war. These were very difficult years for all, with food scarce and safety questionable. He met his first wife, Phyllis Morehouse, in the camp. After the war, Clifford got married and moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he taught mathematics for the Ohio State University Laboratory School for three years. In the summer of 1946, he and Phyllis took a trip which he says ""was destined to change our lives."" Clifford's mother and Phyllis' parents, plus the newly married couple, drove cross-country to California together. For Clifford, the highlight of the trip came in Colorado: ""We reached Estes Park, parked the car, and walked along the Fall River. The day was sunny, the air like champagne to me, and I marveled that such a place existed."" He went over Trail Ridge Road, continued over Berthoud Pass, on to Denver, and down to Trinidad. ""It was a day so filled with dramatic, changing sights and experiences that I was totally blown away. I made up my mind then and there that if ever the chance arose, this was where I was going to live."" And so a Coloradoan was born! In 1948 Cliff moved to New Jersey to pursue a doctorate in education at Columbia Teachers College - eventually earning his Ed.D. He also took the opportunity to search for college teaching positions in Colorado, leading to summer work at the University of Denver. In 1951 he took a full time position at DU and the family moved to Denver. Cliff and Phyllis divorced in 1955, and he married Mildred (Monie) Marquison Hoyt in 1957. Cliff and Monie's marriage lasted almost 48 years until her death in 2005. Monie was the love of his life, and they enjoyed that life together - in education, in travels around the world, and especially in their Mount Vernon Country Club home west of Denver. They had the Mount Vernon house for 34 years, using it as a summer home during their stays in New Jersey or Pueblo, but always returning to their mountain home. Clifford continued his career in higher education: Assistant Professor at the University of Denver, Curriculum Director for the Colorado Department of Education, Professor of Education at Rutgers University, and eventually Chairman of the Department of Education at Southern Colorado State College (now CSU Pueblo). In retirement, Clifford took up writing, authoring three books: The First Time Through (his autobiography - published to his family) How to Live to Be 100 - And Like It How to Fix the Schools He also wrote several children's stories, and some editorials for the Denver Post as A Colorado Voice. Cliff very much enjoyed his Colorado mountains. Every week he would go on 2-hour long drives into Denver's foothills - Bear Creek Canyon, Deer Creek Canyon, Turkey Creek, Golden Gate, Clear Creek. He knew them all by heart, and loved to visit them again and again. Another highlight for Cliff was the annual Bebell Family Campout. Each summer, his family would have a 4-day campout in the Colorado mountains - in dozens of different locations. Around 25 family members would be there, and they would share food and drink, conversation and fellowship, hikes and excursions. Cliff was a central part of all 29 of the family's annual outings, and will be with them for their 30th, this summer, in spirit! Clifford is survived by his six children: Julie Grant, David Bebell, Bobbie Girardin, Janet Bebell, Linda Gibas, and Steven Bebell - plus many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His family will miss him very much! In lieu of flowers or other gifts, a memorial gift to a charity of your choice is suggested. Below are charities Cliff supported (in alphabetical order): Doctors Without Borders: doctorswithoutborders.org Family Tree - Women in Crisis: thefamilytree.org Goodwill Industries: goodwilldenver.org Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church: wheatridgeumc.org The quotes above are from Cliff's autobiography, The First Time Through, copyright 2009.