Donald Juan Bebell

Donald Juan Bebell, son of John Fountaine Denyse Bebell and Violet Kaiser Bebell, was born February 24, 1927 in New York, NY, and passed away peacefully in Erie, PA at the age of ninety-nine.

Don’s outlook on life was shaped by his early years. Growing up during the Great Depression gave him a lifelong commitment to hard work and to family. At 14, he went straight from school each day to his job at the shipyard on the Lake Erie docks, and by sixteen was employed in the war-effort as a welder for the American Boiler Works.

Days after graduating from Strong Vincent High School, Don enlisted in the United States Army. He was a member of the 803rd Military Police Battalion and served as Private Investigator on the Italian island of Capri through the end of World War 2. Patriotism was a hallmark of his character, and he was proud of his family’s long ancestry and role in the American Revolution.

After the war, Don founded AJAX Lumber Mill and Building Supply Company with his brother, Clinton, and their father, John. He went on to start his own general contracting business and built more than a 1,000 homes in Erie. His real estate interests were eclectic. At various points in his life, he owned a restaurant, a high school, and even a cemetery.

All of Don’s businesses were guided by a strong sense of ethics and fairness. In the late 1940s and 1950s, before the civil rights movement, he ran one of the first companies in Erie with integrated work crews. His commitment to equal opportunity and fair treatment was so exemplary that the NAACP studied his approach. Following his retirement, Don continued to work in investments and real estate.

In his spare time, Don was an accomplished woodworker and artist, his work was meticulous and finely detailed.

Above all else, Don’s greatest passion was his family. He cherished Marie, his wife of fifty-two years, his children and grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Don was preceded in death by his daughter, Debra Bebell, whose husband, Mark Terovich survives her; his brother, Clinton Bebell and his wife, Rowena; and his sisters, Violet (Vi) Bebell Steinbacher and her husband, Raymond, and Joan Thurston and her husband, Bob. In addition to his wife, Marie (Costa), he is survived by his sons, Don J. Bebell (Debra) and Damian J. Bebell (Amy); his daughter, Andrea M. Bebell (John Rothenburg); his granddaughters, Phoebe A. Bebell and Vivienne M. Rothenburg; and many nieces and nephews.

Private arrangements have been entrusted to Burton Quinn Scott Cremation & Funeral Services Inc. West Ridge, 3801 W. 26th St. Erie, PA.