David N. Bell
David N. Bell, Newfoundland, Canada and Pontigny/France, died March 18, 2025.
The husband of Professor Terryl Kinder, distinguished visiting professor in Fine Arts at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Michael’s, David was longtime professor of religion and culture at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.
David taught Â鶹ÊÓƵ Michael’s summer courses in Pontigny, where he and Terryl had a home in view of Pontigny Abbey — so important in the history of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Michael’s College’s founding religious order, the Society of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Edmund. Terryl is a leading international scholar of the Abbey and its history.
Following is David’s obituary that Terryl wrote and shared with the College:
“With a sadness reverberating around Newfoundland – through the thousands of students he taught at Memorial University and myriads of karatekas from his dojos – his wife, Terryl N. Kinder (Distinguished Visiting Professor in Fine Arts at SMC), announces the death of her beloved husband, David Neil Bell, on March 18. David also participated in teaching the SMC summer courses in Pontigny, “Culture and Society in Medieval Burgundy” and will be remembered for his erudition, wit, wine-tasting lessons, and the occasional cigar.
“Born in a medieval house in the shadow of Durham cathedral on June 2, 1943, David graduated from Leeds University in 1964 and studied at the Oriental Institute at Princeton before switching from sociology (Japanese Population statistics in the early modern period) to the study of religions at Oxford, where he graduated with a D. Phil. in 1971. Offered a teaching position in Newfoundland in 1970 when the university was expanding, he accepted a two-year contract but fell in love with The Rock, never left it in spirit, and always thought of it as home. His 34 books and hundreds of articles are witness to his prolific scholarly life, as was his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
“While it may seem incongruous to some, Dr. David N. Bell was quite literally the voice of Newfoundland to the many scholars and students who heard his lectures at academic conferences and university settings in Europe, Canada, and the USA, and he was never anything short of laudatory about his adopted home.
“His love of cats is well known to everyone who knew him. In lieu of flowers, it would please him to know that you made a donation to your favorite animal shelter – or adopted one!â€