Charles Scott Bickell

C. Scott Bickell of Columbia, MD passed away on August 26th, 2021 at Howard County General Hospital. He was 77 years old. Born on October 14, 1943, to The Reverend Doctor Charles A.L Bickell and Marion T. Bickell in Lycoming, PA, Scott was the younger brother of Gretchen Jordan, who preceded him in death in 2002. The two were preacher's kids in the Methodist Church who spent their youth in Central Pennsylvania and Glendale, CA.

Scott was a 1961 graduate of York Suburban High School in York, PA where he starred on the varsity baseball team. It is family lore that he hit the first home run in the history of the school and unless there is evidence to the contrary, the legend will continue. He continued his baseball career while in college, playing four years on varsity at Drew University in Madison, NJ, earning team MVP honors his senior year. Sadly, Scott’s baseball career ended on the softball fields of Ft Meade after he tried to score from second on a single and realized he was just too old.

Scott met Betty Ann Petz while at Drew University and after they graduated in 1965 the couple married in Derby, CT. He and Betty moved to Columbia, MD in 1971 and the couple's three children and seven grandchildren still reside in Howard County.

Recruited out of college, Scott began his 30-year career as a civilian at that place in Ft. Meade, the name of which we were to never mention. While at the National Security Agency, he served as the Senior Operations Officer and the Senior Warning Officer and had field assignments on Okinawa, Japan and at the Central Intelligence Agency. He was a 1986 graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows Program at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.

After retiring from the NSA, he became involved in community service and was the founding and current treasurer of The Serenity Center. The Serenity Center, founded in 1993, provides a safe and loving environment that supports and encourages physical, emotional and spiritual growth through 12-Step fellowships. He has been working part-time as the financial bookkeeper for Schuster Concrete since 2006.

Scott was a loving and devoted father and Pop Pop. On evenings and weekends he could be found on the sidelines cheering his grandchildren at baseball, soccer and basketball games, gymnastics and swim meets, and golf matches.

He is survived by his children Kristen Welch, Wendy Avery (husband John) and Jordan Bickell (wife Ginny); grandchildren Tyler Welch, Johnny Welch, Malia Bickell, Johnny Avery, Katie Avery, Miles Bickell and Calvin Bickell; former wife of 30 years Betty Bickell and devoted life partner of 17 years, Dale Kane and her son Nater Kane; brother-in-law Dr. William Jordan and sister-in-law Eileen Kirkner, and extended family and friends.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, September 4th at the Kings Contrivance Restaurant from 1 to 4pm. For more details and to RSVP, please contact Kristen Welch at, [email protected]. (All are welcome. RSVPs are appreciated for planning purposes, but not required for attendance.)