Jamie was a son of Mr. and Mrs. George de Benneville Bell (Roberta McVey). His father was CEO of Janney Montgomery Scott, a financial services firm founded in 1832. His paternal grandfather, John C. Bell Jr., was chief justice of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, and his great-uncle De Benneville “Bert” Bell was the first commissioner of the NFL and an early owner of the Philadelphia Eagles. His maternal great-grandfather J. Howard Pew was president of the Sun Oil Company and a cofounder of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

 

Jamie graduated from the Chestnut Hill Academy in 1978, from Hobart in 1982, and earned a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia in 1987. He completed basic training as a Marine at Parris Island, GA. Jamie worked as a researcher and writer for Golf magazine, and later as a stock broker with Janney Montgomery Scott.

 

Jamie was a locally renowned blues musician, a talented guitarist and singer who performed from New England to Baltimore, including New York City and the Philadelphia area. A passionate golfer, he won club championships at the Gulph Mills Golf Club and the Prouts Neck Country Club in Maine, where his family has summered for three generations. He also won the Silver Putter at Sunnybrook Golf Club with his longtime partner, E. George Cross. 

 

Survivors include Mrs. Bell (Story—Susannah P. Baker); a stepdaughter, Tabor Story; and his siblings, Sophie and George.