A force for change.
Belle Bear’s journey from sorority rejection to powerful influence.
By Magi Thomley Williams / Photo by Kate Treick Photography
“All of my friends in Selma were going to the University of Alabama. All my friends were going to join sororities. Because I was Jewish, I was not going to be able to go into those sororities because they didn’t take Jewish girls in,” Belle Bear recalled.
Instead, Bear attended the University of Arizona, where she pledged a Jewish sorority and where she learned to volunteer.
After college, she moved to Atlanta, where she taught third grade. At the age of 25, Bear believed herself to be an “old maid schoolteacher” until she was invited to the wedding of a relative, where she met the love of her life, Lewis Bear II.
“We met in March. We got engaged in June. We had a big wedding in August. We were married 56 and a half years before he passed away,” she said.
The couple settled in Pensacola so he could work in the family business, The Lewis Bear Company.
“I didn’t know anybody in Pensacola except Lewis,” Bear remembered.
Undeterred, she quickly became involved, volunteering for Temple Beth El’s Sisterhood, the board of Girl Scouts, then Big Brothers Big Sisters, and others. She is now the matriarch of the Bear Family Foundation, which generously contributes millions of dollars annually to benefit a range of initiatives.
A founding member of IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area over 21 years ago, she is an enthusiastic promoter of the mission.
“IMPACT is my very favorite. I love giving to organizations, but IMPACT is the only one that I know I give my $1,000 to, and every penny goes back into the community. I get to visit nonprofits, find out about them, and vote on winners. It’s just amazing what IMPACT has done for the community. It’s the best organization I’ve ever been involved with.”
Bear’s influence reaches beyond philanthropy.
“I’ve been involved with politics for a long time,” she said. “I was on the board of ARC Gateway Foundation for years, and I would go to Tallahassee every year and beg for money for ARC.”
She became comfortable with the power in the state capital and continues to reach out to elected officials at all levels on issues that are important to her. She encourages other women to engage with policymakers, too.
“If you’re really involved with an organization that needs help from the state, go to Tallahassee,” Bear advised. “It’s amazing how many people from other communities are over there doing the same thing. If you don’t go, somebody else is going to get that money you want.”
Growing up in Selma, Bear was part of a small Jewish community.
“I was Jewish, and I went to temple on the High Holy Days, and my friends would go to the Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church. I had my Easter dress to go with them,” she said.
Religion was not a factor in acceptance.
“We were members of the country club. We were members of everything; when I moved to Pensacola, it wasn’t like that,” Bear said. “There were many years that we were not allowed in the country club; when we finally got in, Lewis ended up being president.”
At Temple Beth El, a reform temple, she is helping plan the upcoming 150th anniversary of the congregation where Lewis’s great grandfather was a founding member. The celebration will be a party where all are welcome to join in the fun.
As genteel as any woman you will ever meet, Bear wields an unexpected, wicked sense of humor. For all her accomplishments, she remains genuinely humble. She often donates her time, including participation in the Rat Pack Reunion, a fundraiser for the Council on Aging of West Florida. Bear has received a plethora of accolades over the decades, most recently being named #1 on the InWeekly Power List for 2025 and receiving the 2025 MLK Living the Dream Service Award. However, Bear said that she is most honored to have been awarded the Florida Senate Presidential Medal by then-president of the Florida senate, Don Gaetz.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to help the community and to be with my family all the time. My three children live here, and my four grandchildren are in high school and college. I just love being with my family, and they take really good care of me,” she said.
They should. Bear is a powerful asset to the world, impacting many who will never have the privilege to know her.
