Molly Bell Nordstrom passed away on May 2, 2025 at age 95 in Crestview, FL.
She was born Mary Price Benson on January 2, 1930 in Knoxville, TN to Ruth and Greg Benson.
Molly’s childhood in Knoxville was full of her mother’s ukelele music and her father’s garden and newspaper sports writing.
She graduated from high school in Knoxville and enrolled at the University of Tennessee, where she earned credits toward her Bachelor’s degree in Home Economics.
While attending UT, she met Wilbur Seale Bell of Live Oak, FL while he was working in Knoxville. They married in Knoxville before moving to Live Oak where they had three sons, Kenneth, Allen, and John. In 1964, the family moved to St. Augustine, where Wilbur worked as the manager of the Chamber of Commerce and they attended First Methodist Church. Molly was a homemaker who focused on providing nutritious meals and durable clothes for her three boys on a limited budget. She was particularly famous for burning cornbread in a cast iron skillet and occasionally throwing the cornbread and skillet into the backyard of their home on May St.
When 2 of her 3 sons were in college, Molly wrote the first grant to establish the St. John’s County Council on Aging and served as its first Executive Director. In addition to her leadership role, she was particularly involved in Meals on Wheels and teaching crafting classes for seniors.
Molly was a lifelong artist who could find beauty overlooked by others in scraps and cast-offs. She enjoyed watercolors, decoupage, gold wire-wrapped jewelry, and combing St Augustine Beach for treasures. She often visited local art galleries with her grandson Josh.
With her second husband, Cy Olson, Molly enjoyed international travel.
With her third husband, Gus Nordstrom, Molly lived in St Augustine Shores and attended Shores United Methodist Church. Molly and Gus traveled often to visit their grandchildren in Crestview and also to visit Gus’s daughters in the northeastern US and friends in England.
Molly is preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, Wilbur, Cy, and Gus, her eldest son Kenneth, and her grandson Emory.
She is survived by her brother King Benson of Knoxville; sons Allen (Kim) of Crestview and John (Kathy) of Tallahassee; her daughter-in-law Natalie; her grandchildren Sara (Erik) of Crestview and Josh (Rich) of Orlando; and her great grandchildren, Allison, Abigail, John David, Joseph, and Jacob.
To remember Molly, take a moment to find the beauty in something that someone else may see as worthless, visit an art gallery, eat a nutritious meal, or mend the tears in old clothes instead of throwing them away.
A private family graveside memorial will be held in Live Oak, FL at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Molly’s memory to the St. John’s County Council on Aging or the St. Augustine Art Association.
Leave a Condolence