Former Detroit and Wayne County Financial Chief, widow of the late Entrepreneur and Casino Operator Don Barden, Mother. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Bella moved with her family to Detroit's east side when she was 8 years old, where she attended the Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School. Following graduation from Wayne State University in 1972, Ms. Marshall went on to earn a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1975. As a young attorney, Bella was hired as staff counsel by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, eventually becoming its first female - and youngest - director. She was then tapped to serve as Finance Director for the city of Detroit under the late Mayor Coleman A. Young. Again, she was the first female to hold this position. It was during this time that she met cable company mogul and casino developer Don Barden, whom she married in 1985. The couple had one child together, a daughter named Alana. After leaving her position with the city of Detroit, Bella worked with her husband as president of Barden International, an automotive manufacturing, sales and service operation in Namibia, South Africa. She eventually returned to public service, working as the chief financial officer and later the chief operating officer for Wayne County, MI. In the year prior to her untimely passing, Bella was in the midst of a complicated divorce from her estranged husband Don Barden, when he died in May of 2011. An extremely hard-working and dedicated public servant, and a role model to many, it is rumored that Ms. Marshall was considering a run for the office of mayor of the city of Detroit before a freak accident in her Palmer Woods home ended any political aspirations.

Bio by: Legacy