Barbara Jean Bissell

1950 - 2024

Barbara Jean Bissell (Howell)
May 18, 1950 - March 18, 2024
Our beloved wife, mother, sister, and friend Barbara passed away on March 18. She was a force of nature - always fighting for the people she cared about, which was almost everyone she met.
She was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1950. As a result of her father's career, she lived in six states and Puerto Rico before graduating from high school. When it came time for college, it seems she favored schools that start with a "w"- Wheaton and Williams in Massachusetts for her BA, followed by the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for her MBA! From an early age she demonstrated her entrepreneurial flair - starting a day care center and a door-to-door marketing company while still in college.
After earning her MBA, she moved to San Francisco to join Crocker Bank as a Vice President and lived the rest of her life in the Bay Area, which she loved. After Crocker, she served as VP, Strategy for World Airway, and then as an executive recruiter, where among other high-profile placements she recruited the CFO for Apple Computer.
She was fortunate to meet Lincoln Howell, a broadcast TV executive and philanthropist at a party - and their whirlwind romance led to a 35-year marriage! So many have benefited from their shared kindness and generosity.
She continued her career helping Lincoln run KTSF TV, as well as the Lillian Lincoln Howell Foundation. She also enjoyed serving on the board, and as President of the Wharton Club of Northern California.
Throughout Barbara's career she was valued for her strategic vision, organizational skills, and networking ability. She was a highly creative problem solver. When offered two options, she would find a third, superior option that seemed implausible, and make it happen. She found a way to overcome any obstacle.
As a philanthropist, her greatest accomplishment was envisioning and leading a team that produced a documentary which drew worldwide attention to snakebite envenoming. Barbara had learned from a doctor that this disease is responsible for over 120,000 deaths and four times as many disabilities each year. The documentary was filmed on five continents with an international team. As a result of the documentary, the World Health Organization added snakebite envenoming to the list of neglected diseases. The LL Foundation then funded the WHO to develop a roadmap to cut the number of cases in half. Promotion of the roadmap led to over $150 million in funding from foundations and member countries.
Her career, however successful, is only a fraction of Barbara's story. She was the mother bear who nurtured and supported her cubs - and was fearless in defending them. It started when Barbara's mother suffered a disabling aneurism when Barbara was 12 and remained institutionalized for the rest of her life. Barbara filled the void, taking care of her two younger brothers, Phillip and Gene, and her father. She helped the family navigate turbulent lives with several moves, three stepmothers and four stepbrothers. When her grandmother passed, she moved her mother to the Bay Area and took over her care, almost a full-time job, and a great personal sacrifice. Then she took care of her aging father; his wife, Ruth, and her mother-in-law, Lillian.
Barbara was over the moon when her daughter, Alisha, was born. She was a devoted mother, justifiably proud of the kind, intelligent woman Alisha has become. She adored her nieces and nephews, ..; Nicole, Justin, Jennie, and their children, Hayden, Ashlynn, Mackenzie, Madeline and Orion.
Barbara also mothered and mentored several other children, who she loved no less, including Jessica, Scott, Darnell, Andy, Brooks, Addie, Angel, Gennady, Eric, and many others.
Barbara was a very spiritual person. She found connections through many channels, including Unity, Mind Dynamics, and astrology. Many witnessed and trusted her psychic ability. She was so empathetic that she would literally feel the pain of those she loved.
And Barbara loved a party. Even when she lived in a studio apartment in the city, she was always filling it with fascinating people for memorable dinners. As the homes got bigger so did the parties, and she gained quite a reputation as a hostess. She loved gourmet food and travel, often with an entourage of family and friends.
We look forward to celebrating Barbara's remarkable life with friends and family at a gathering to be held Saturday, April 13, 2024, at the CROSBY N. GRAY & CO. Funeral Home, 2 Park Road, Burlingame; (Gathering at 10, service at 10:30 a.m.)
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the World Central Kitchen or the American Diabetes Association.