Jean Mary Bell, a personal assistant at Clairol U.K., was from Leeds, Yorkshire, England. She was traveling to New York to visit her oldest son David, who was 24 at the time, and her American daughter-in-law for the Christmas holidays. She leaves her three sons, David, Jonathan, and Richard, as well as two sisters, two brothers, and her mother and father.

Mary is described as having fabulous taste and being very individual and very stylish. She was brave and not one to complain, dealing with burdens as they arose and overcoming them. Mary raised her three children single-handedly. She also had great success in renovating properties. For two years. Mary never used her kitchen, only using the microwave to warm-up take-aways. She had the quote, "Life is far too short to stuff a mushroom," scotch taped to the oven door. Mary enjoyed life to the fullest.