From dedicated town volunteers and community leaders to a highly decorated veteran, renowned journalist, artist and social worker, Marblehead lost many notable residents in 2025. This list is not comprehensive. Readers who wish to suggest an addition may email info@marbleheadnews.org.
Ed Bell, 84
Ed Bell was an award-winning journalist and community volunteer whose career in news spanned five decades. A co-founder and president of the Marblehead Current, Bell worked in newspapers, broadcasting and wire services, leading coverage of some of the most consequential stories of the late 20th century.
In Marblehead, Bell served as chair of the Council on Aging and treasurer of Marblehead Community Access and Media. He hosted the MHTV panel show “Up for Discussion” and was a trustee of the Boston Yacht Club, where he also served on the race committee. In 2019, he was named Marblehead’s Rey Moulton Person of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce. Bell died Jan. 17.
Sean Casey, 68
Sean Casey was a lifelong Marbleheader who, at the time of his death, was deeply involved in drafting a town charter.
“He was the quintessential Marbleheader,” said Amy Drinker, who served with Casey on the Charter Committee. “He was considerate and honest, he worked hard, and he was mildly grumpy when he got annoyed. He served his community in so many ways. He really was a great person.”
Casey worked in public policy consulting, with projects in all 50 states and several foreign countries. He was most recently employed by Colleague Consulting of Maryland. He was active in Marblehead Youth Hockey and the Recreation and Parks Department. He died Dec. 4.
Harry Christensen, 78
Harry Christensen was a highly decorated Marine Corps veteran who received numerous honors, including the Silver Star for gallantry in action and two Purple Hearts. After medically retiring from the Marines, he returned home and resumed his education.
Christensen graduated from Salem State University and earned a master’s degree from Boston College. After teaching in the Danvers Public Schools for 13 years, he received his law degree from Suffolk University in 1983 and practiced law in Marblehead for more than 40 years.
He served the town on many boards and committees, including more than 20 years on the Board of Selectmen. He was also a member and commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2005, served on the Marblehead Historical Commission and worked as shellfish constable.
A passionate historian, Christensen spent more than 40 years researching the unsolved 1950 murder of Marblehead schoolteacher Beryl Atherton. In 2022, he and co-author Richard Santeusanio published a book detailing the case, a project he frequently lectured about until his death on April 20.
Joan F. (Healey) Champlin
Joan Champlin was a fixture at the Gerry 5 for decades. Born at Mary Alley Hospital, she attended Star of the Sea School and Marblehead High School. After briefly working for a Boston telephone company, she spent nearly 60 years at the Gerry 5 VFA, where she tended bar, later managed operations and eventually served as a board member.
“To say she enjoyed sports would be an understatement,” Champlin’s obituary read. “She followed friends and family around the country to watch games. She was a fan of all Boston teams, and it wasn’t a game if she wasn’t yelling at the television and calling the plays.”
Champlin died Oct. 15.
Don Durkee, 100
Don Durkee was president of Durkee-Mower Inc., best known for producing Marshmallow Fluff and popularizing the fluffernutter sandwich. He rose to treasurer before becoming president in the mid-1970s and retired in 2019 at age 94. He died Nov. 8.
Durkee enjoyed skiing, sailing, badminton and golf. He was a private pilot and an inventor, holding one patent. A longtime member of Tedesco Country Club, he served as its president in 1989 and on planning and finance committees throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Savannah Gatchell, 13
Savanah Gatchell was about to enter eighth grade when she died in an alleged drunk driving crash on Atlantic Avenue Aug. 19. The teen driving the car is charged. Savanah’s death prompted an outpouring of grief, including a candlelight vigil at Devereux Beach. Faculty at the Veterans School and Marblehead High raised money for a memorial bench in her honor. “Savanah had a natural gift for creative expression through art and fashion, according to her obituary. “She also greatly enjoyed cooking and baking, as well as tending to her cat, Tilly, and best K9 pal, Sadie.”
Dr. Max Kaulbach, 91
Dr. Max Kaulbach was a renowned cardiologist and co-founder of the Marblehead Youth Soccer Association. Born in Surabaya, Indonesia — then the Dutch East Indies — he later resettled with his family in The Hague, Netherlands, where they endured World War II occupation.
Kaulbach established North Shore Cardiology Associates in Salem, introducing advanced technology to the region, including a coronary care unit, cardiac catheterization lab and pacemaker clinic. He also served as president of the medical staff at Salem Hospital.
Widely respected for his compassion and optimism, Kaulbach was remembered by colleagues and patients as “a true gentleman doctor.” His impact on the North Shore community through decades of care and innovation was profound. He died May 16.
Nancy (Welch) Ryan, 88
Born and raised in Marblehead, Nancy Ryan worked for decades as a social worker and in 1981 founded My Brother’s Table in Lynn, a testament to her commitment to serving the hungry, lonely and those in need of a warm meal.
Ryan was bestowed with many honors during her life, including the Archdiocese of Boston’s Cheverus Award and Trinity College’s Alumnae Achievement Award. She also served as an official torch bearer for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Ryan died Feb. 27.
Carl Siegel, 91
Carl Siegel dedicated decades of service to Marblehead. He was a member of the Marblehead Rotary Club for 33 years, served five years on the Recreation and Parks Department and spent 36 years on the Water and Sewer Board.
Siegel also made a unique contribution to football, redesigning the referee bean bag used by the NFL. He officiated football games for 15 years and coached and served on boards for Marblehead Midget Football and Marblehead Little League.
Known as the town’s unofficial handyman, Siegel volunteered tirelessly. He planted flowers at Maple and Lafayette streets, hung lights at Chandler Hovey Park, assisted with Rotary Club events, posted vote totals in the Abbot Hall lobby during town elections and completed countless other projects. Neighbors often saw him working in his Evans Road garage, crafting and creating well into his later years. He died Feb. 20.
