The expression, “Learning to love and loving to learn,” comes naturally to Mark R. Bell (B.S., ’83) and his wife Jill (Tanner) Bell (B.S., ’79), whose lives have increasingly embodied those words.
They each arrived at Colorado State University through very different paths. Jill was raised in Billings, Montana, and went to Saint Olaf College in Minnesota for one year before transferring to CSU, where her childhood best friend attended. Although she pledged to the Delta Delta Delta sorority, she lived in Edwards Hall for her sophomore year. Conversely, Mark grew up in southern California and was recruited to CSU on a football scholarship in 1975. He, too, lived in Edwards Hall, and that is where the couple met in 1976.
They have fond memories of the community they shared in the dormitory and on campus. She watched him play at Hughes Stadium, and they attended basketball games and other sporting events together, participated in campus clubs, and enjoyed attending parties and dancing. When not at football practice or in class, Mark could usually be found playing pinball on one of the machines in Edwards Hall.
“It took a little while before I realized that I was supposed to be a full-time student and a full-time athlete,” Mark said. “Most of the time, I was a full-time athlete and part-time student.”
In May 1979, the day after Jill graduated with a degree in human development and family studies, the couple married at a local church. The former quarterback of the football team turned position coach at the time, Mark Driscoll (B.S., ’76; M.S., ’88), and his wife Neyla (B.A., ’79) sang at the ceremony, and the reception was held at the Tri Delta house.
Going Pro
Later that year, Mark entered the National Football League’s draft and was recruited by the Saint Louis Cardinals in the fifth round. During the NFL’s off-season, he would return to campus to finish his undergraduate studies. He was released by the Cardinals in 1981 and completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1983 before accepting a job with Platte River Power Authority.
Between 1980 and 1984, the couple had three children: Nathan, Rachel, and Abby. In 1991, the family moved to Corvallis, Oregon, where Mark had accepted a position with Hewlett Packard. When Nathan was in high school, Jill started working part-time assisting English as a Second Language learners in their local middle school.
In 2000, Rachel followed in her mother’s footsteps by attending CSU and majoring in human development and family studies. She also met and married Mike McCubbin (B.A., ’03), the son of Jeff McCubbin, the former dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences and faculty emeritus. The couple later moved to Denver; Nathan and his family also relocated there in 2010, and the following year, Abby’s husband, Denny Bain, accepted a teaching position in Aurora and moved their family from Oregon to Colorado.
A New Venture
In 2011, Abby and Denny traveled to Haiti to assist with recovery efforts from a devastating earthquake that struck Haiti the year before. While in Pignon, now a city of more than 30,000 people, they met Pastor Francois and his wife, Madam Romelus, who were caring for orphans and at-risk children in their home.
According to Jill, “Abby and Denny came back changed, and they said, ‘We’ve got to help this pastor who has an orphanage; these kids are sleeping on concrete floors and sheets of plywood.’” The Bains love children, and the vital work being done on their behalf touched them so profoundly that they established a nonprofit organization named Loving Haiti and began working with the pastor and his wife to support the children and marginalized people of Pignon. During their visit, they also met two sisters, whom they eventually adopted six years later.
In 2007, Mark took an early retirement offer from HP. “I felt called to a compelling unknown,” he said. He then began working with some friends who owned small businesses while volunteering with some local nonprofits. Mark also took an extended trip to Haiti to understand the conditions better, cultivate relationships and partnerships, and determine the best ways to help his daughter and son-in-law.
With all of their adult children and grandchildren living in Colorado, Jill and Mark moved back to Fort Collins in 2012, which was a long-awaited homecoming for them. Mark helped establish Loving Haiti as a nonprofit organization and became its treasurer. Jill accepted a position as counseling secretary at Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School, where she earned the nickname “Jill of all trades” by continuing to work in various capacities. Denny later accepted a teaching position at Poudre High School in Fort Collins, and to give him and Abby more time with their five daughters, Mark became president of Loving Haiti in 2017.
The Power of Love
In the past 12 years, the positive difference Loving Haiti has made is nothing short of amazing. When the organization started, Pastor Francois’s Orphanage had a children’s home and school for 39 children. Today, the children’s home cares for 60 children, and the school has expanded to serve more than 750 students from preschool through 9th grade.
In 2023, Mark and the organization’s vice president, Caroline (Merrill) Yonker (B.S., ’78; M.S., ’81), launched a women’s business program, a six-month course that teaches women business skills and how to develop a business plan. Afterward, the women’s plans are evaluated, and if their businesses benefit the community and provide sufficient income for the women, Loving Haiti provides them with interest-free microloans.
“Of the twelve women who have completed the program thus far, all but one are on time or ahead of time in paying back their loans. It’s just been incredible,” Mark said.
The organization also provides a widows’ fund to help women meet their daily needs for food, water, clothing, healthcare, medicine, and so on. Some of those women are candidates for the women’s business program, which helps them achieve financial security and independence.
In collaboration with other non-profit partners, Loving Haiti is also part of a milk and feeding clinic that provides food, baby formula, over-the-counter medications, and financial assistance with hospital and education expenses. Additionally, they work directly with specific individuals who distribute food throughout the year to about 350 of the most impoverished people living in and around Pignon.
“I believe that love expresses itself through giving,” Mark said. “If we are blessed, then we should look for areas where we can be a blessing. No one gets anywhere without help or resources. Our organization is basically what it’s called Loving Haiti. It’s an opportunity to continue learning from each other and learning how to love each other.”
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When you join the Colorado State University Alumni Association, you become part of something bigger – a global community of green and gold that keeps alumni connected to the University and each other. Alumni Association Member Mark R. Bell is making an impact on current students and future Rams through his volunteerism and donations; providing support for alumni programming, outreach, and nationwide engagement; and preserving time-honored traditions that bind us together as Rams. You can make a difference too, and gain access to benefits such as exclusive invites, bookstore savings, career services, and more. Become a member today!
