George Schell

George Schell, retired speech professor and Deputy Los Angeles City Attorney, died October 11, 2007 in Lago Vista, Texas. He was 68. Schell was born May 11, 1939 in Waco, Texas to George Alvin Schell and Jessie Bearden Schell. He grew up in Waco, attended Waco High School, and studied at Baylor University, where he was a champion debater. At the 1960 National Debate Tournament, Schell won Top Speaker honors, edging out Harvard’s Lawrence Tribe. Schell earned his BA in 1961 and his MA in 1963, both from Baylor. He then went to Loyola University (now Loyola Marymount University) in Los Angeles, serving as Professor of Speech and then Chairman of the Department of Speech Communications and Debate. In 1977 he earned a law degree from Loyola Law School and was appointed Deputy Los Angeles City Attorney, in which capacity he served, with the exception of one year practicing law in Quincy, California, until his retirement in 2004. During his many years as Deputy City Attorney, Schell was one of Los Angeles’s most distinguished prosecutors, noted for his exceptionally high conviction rate, his mentoring of new prosecutors, and for being the first prosecutor in Los Angeles to obtain a domestic violence conviction without the cooperation of the victimized spouse. He was remembered by one senior colleague as "the best prosecutor I've ever seen". Schell married Anne McCall in 1960. They had a son, Michael, in 1961, and divorced in 1974, but remained friends thereafter. Schell’s younger brother, Richard Randall Schell, born in 1947 and a longtime Austin resident, predeceased him. After retiring, Schell returned to Texas, living in and around Austin. He enjoyed feeding the deer in his backyard, listening to music, bicycling, volunteering, and visiting with friends and relishing visits with his young grandchildren. George leaves behind his former wife Anne Schell, his son Michael Schell and daughter-in-law Lauren Goldman Marshall, two grandchildren Hannah and Abigail, and numerous close friends in California, Texas and elsewhere. Memorial services will be held Saturday, October 20 at Weed Corley Fish Funeral Home, 3125 North Lamar Blvd in Austin, Texas 78705. Receiving is at 10:00 AM, ceremony at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes contributions in Schell’s honor to any of the organizations for which he volunteered, including Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, KUT Public Radio and KLRU Public Television.