For nearly three decades, Samuel Bell helped guide The Fletcher Jones Foundation in California, evaluating hundreds of grant proposals and encouraging fellow trustees to focus on a simple question: What difference will this make?
Upon his retirement, The Fletcher Jones Foundation honored his years of service by providing Bell with the opportunity to direct a million-dollar gift to an institution of his choosing. He selected the UT Health San Antonio Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, aligning the gift with his personal experience.
A personal connection to hope
After losing his friend, Glenn Biggs, to Alzheimer’s and witnessing his mother-in-law endure the effects of the disease as well, it became impossible for Bell to view the mission of the Biggs Institute from a distance.
"Alzheimer's is so ugly, I saw what it could do to relatively healthy, successful people."
Samuel Bell
He recalled the ultimate toll of Alzheimer's disease after losing Biggs.
“To have him struck with Alzheimer's was a blow to me,” Bell said.
And so, his commitment to Alzheimer’s research ignited and he chose to support an institute dedicated to tackling the disease — led by people whom Bell believes can make change possible.
Meeting the people behind the advancement of Alzheimer's care
As Bell learned about the Biggs Institute and its mission, he met its founding director, Sudha Seshadri, MD, DM.
“After meeting with Dr. Seshadri, we decided to throw all the support we could behind the institute,” Bell said. “My mission is the same as [the Glenn Biggs Institute]: to create a better lifestyle for people living with Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.”
Bell described Seshadri as both an accomplished researcher and a physician selflessly dedicated to her patients. And the decision to support the Glenn Biggs Institute reflects Bell’s focus on positive and measurable outcomes. He says he has watched the institute grow into a vital hub in South Texas for research, care and innovation in neurodegenerative diseases and sees the meaningful progress taking shape in his community.
“The competence and excellence of the people involved is what stands out,” he said. “They’re making huge progress, and I feel so fortunate to know these people and to see up close the good they are doing.”
A career dedicated to thoughtful giving
Mary Spellman, executive director and treasurer of The Fletcher Jones Foundation, said Bell’s influence extended far beyond individual grant decisions.
“His clear thinking and ability to get to the essence of proposals molded how to think about grants,” she said. “He encouraged us to measure outcomes, which has become an essential part of our best practices.”
Reflecting on Bell’s more than 26 years served on the foundation’s board, Spellman says she believes his leadership helped ensure continuity and strength in the foundation’s work.
She also found an inspiring connection between the innovation at the Glenn Biggs Institute and Fletcher Jones’ own legacy as a visionary who once turned possibility into progress.
"Fletcher Jones was a visionary who saw what was possible and worked to make it a reality. I believe he would be proud to support the vision and creativity happening at the Glenn Biggs Institute today."
Mary J. Spellman, EdD, executive director and treasurer of The Fletcher Jones Foundation
A unified commitment to make lives better
Through this gift, Bell and The Fletcher Jones Foundation continue a longstanding commitment to investing where urgency meets possibility — advancing work that can make lives better for countless patients, families and future generations affected by Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.
