Martha Nell Beatty

1933 - 2025

Martha Nell Beatty
10/29/1933 - 08/21/2025
Martha Nell Beatty passed away on August 21, 2025, in San Francisco, California. Born on October 29, 1933, in San Francisco to Harold Miles Tucker and Audrey Kirkbride Pinney, she spent ten years of her childhood in Sacramento before returning to San Francisco, where she lived for the remainder of her life.
Martha Nell attended the Hamlin School, where she was part of a three-generation legacy and was honored as Alumna of the Year in 2018. She earned a BA in Social Science from Stanford University, following in the footsteps of her grandfather Harold Kirkbride (class of 1895) and her mother (class of 1927).
After college, she began her career in the foreign travel department at Thomas Cook Travel. In 1957, she married Alden (Al) Crow and paused her career to raise their children, Alana and Tucker. In 1963, she chaired the San Francisco Junior League's Historic Sites project, which culminated in a city-endorsed architectural survey published by Chronicle Books in 1970.
In 1969, Martha Nell co-founded Unravel Travel with Louise Vejar. The company later launched The Best of San Francisco Tours. She remained president of Unravel Travel after the two divisions separated. In 1978, she supported Al's efforts to establish a Western-managed travel agency in Saudi Arabia. She sold Unravel Travel in 1993 and continued working in the industry with Frosch Travel until retiring at age 90.
She co-authored travel articles and published a guidebook in 1971. Over her lifetime, she visited 108 countries and sailed on more than 80 cruises.
Widowed twice-Al passed in 1984 and her second husband Denis Beatty in 2002-she is survived by her daughter Alana Crow of Rohnert Park; stepdaughters Deirdri Gladwin and Victoria Campbell; six step-grandchildren; and two step great-grandchildren.
Private services will be held. Remembrances may be made to Heritage on the Marina, 3400 Laguna Street, San Francisco, CA 94123, or Hamlin School, 2120 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 95115.