Aaron, Bella H. (Bella Hurst), 1910-1996

Bella Hurst (Herscovich) Aaron was born in Canada and immigrated to Utah via Montana as a young child. She grew up in Ogden, Utah, the eldest daughter of eight children. Her elder brother, Morris, died at the age of ten. Her parents Clara and David Herscovich emigrated from Romania to Canada. Bella received a teaching credential from Weber College in Ogden, Utah in 1929 and a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah. In 1934 she moved to San Francisco, Calif., and entered San Francisco Law School in 1939. She received her degree and was admitted to the state bar in 1942. Her first position was in the law office of Matthew Tobriner and Leland Lazarus. She stayed with Tobriner until 1945, when he became a California Supreme Court Justice. In Tobriner's office, she became an expert in labor law. She remained in general practice until 1972, but she also moved into public service. She served on the San Rafael Board of Education from 1961 to 1965, and worked for Marin County from 1966 to 1977, serving on the Human Rights Commission, as director of the Police Community Relations Department, and as director of the Criminal Justice Planning Agency. She also served as chairman of the North Bay Regional Criminal Justice Planning Board, and as a consultant to Woman's Way and the Democratic Women of the County of Marin. She was legislative counsel for the National Council of Jewish Women (1961-1963). She also was involved in seeking a settlement from the Iraqi government for the wrongful death of Eugene Burns, an American journalist who was killed in Iraq in 1958, and in supporting John Owen's claim to the estate of his adopted mother, former San Francisco madam and former mayor of Sausalito, Sally Stanford. Bella Hurst married Louis Aaron in 1941 and they adopted two daughters, Deena and Susan. Susan married William Banker and Deena married Robert South. The Aarons traveled extensively in Europe and the Middle East and, at one point, owned a home in Greece.

From the description of Bella H. Aaron papers, ca. 1890s-1996. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 743435688

From the description of Bella H. Aaron papers, ca. 1890s-1996. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 123945383