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Prominent
Business
Woman
Bella
Marshall
Dead at
62
By Karen
Hudson
Samuels/Tell
Us
Detroit
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
Bella
Marshall,
once the
dynamic
half of
a
prominent
Detroit
power
couple
was
found
dead in
her home
Tuesday
morning,
she was
62 years
old.
The
widow of
Don
Barden,
a
nationally
known
African
American
entrepreneur
and
casino
owner,
Marshall
was an
influential
business
woman in
her own
right.
The late
Mayor
Coleman
Young
appointed
Marshall
to head
Detroit's
Finance
Department
when was
only 32,
making
her one
of the
youngest
women in
the
country
to
command
the
finance
department
of a
major
city and
the
first
female
to hold
the post
in
Detroit’s
history.
She held
the
position
for more
than ten
years.
“As
finance
director,
she was
given an
enormous
amount
of
responsibility:
Marshall
headed a
staff of
500, was
responsible
for all
of the
city's
banking
and
investments,
and also
was
charged
with
reforming
its
beleaguered
property-tax
department.
Furthermore,
she
battled
tenaciously
to
upgrade
the
rating
that
Wall
Street
gave
Detroit's
municipal
bonds,
considered
a
reliable
sign of
a city's
financial
health”
according
to an
online
biography
of Bella
Marshall’s
life.
Born in
Windsor,
Ontario,
Canada,
Marshall
would go
on to
earn a
law
degree
from the
University
of
Michigan,
marry
Barden
in 1988
and hold
key
positions
in the
Barden
media
and
gaming-industry
empire.
The
couple
was
wealthy,
well-connected
and a
fixture
for
years on
the
social
circuit.
Despite
her
professional
achievements,
Marshall
was
estranged
from Don
Barden
when he
died of
cancer
in May
of 2011.
Upon
news of
her
death,
Wayne
County
Executive
Robert
Ficano
issued
the
following
statement:
"Today I
lost a
friend
and
former
colleague.
Bella
Marshall
was an
outstanding
business
person
and a
dedicated
public
servant
for
Wayne
County.
She was
hard-working
and a
passionate
voice
for the
people.
While
she was
fortunate
herself,
she
never
forgot
her
roots.
She will
be
missed
by the
many
lives
she
touched."
An
autopsy
is
expected
to be
completed
Wednesday,
funeral
arrangements
are
pending.
Return
to Tell
Us
Detroit
for
further
details.
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