Martha Nell Beatty

Sadly beloved mother of Alana Crow, Martha Nell Beatty, passed away on August 21, 2025. Martha Nell was born in San Francisco to Harold Miles Tucker and Audrey Kirkbride Pinney. Ten years of her childhood were spent in Sacramento, but for the remainder of her life, she lived in San Francisco. Martha Nell attended Hamlin School, the middle of three generations. In, 2018, she was honored Alumna of the year.  She graduated with a BA in Social Science from Stanford and became the third generation of her family to graduate from the university. Her grandfather, Harold Kirkbride, was in the first graduating class in 1895, and her mother was a graduate in 1927.

Her first job after Stanford was in the foreign travel department at Thomas Cook Travel.   The job got her started on a career in travel. Martha Nell took time out from work when she married Alden (Al) Crow in 1957. They had two children, a daughter Alana and son Tucker. She was an at home mother during their early years.

In 1963, she accepted the chairmanship of the San Francisco Junior League’s Historic Sites project, whose purpose was to identify buildings worthy of being preserved in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties. It was the first attempt to conduct a systematic survey of San Francisco and the only one to have the City’s approval. Six years after its start, the project culminated in the publication by Chronicle Books of the respected Here Today. In May 1970, the Board of Supervisors adopted it as the official city-wide survey and inventory of historically and architecturally significant structures.

Martha Nell soon became an entrepreneur when she and a business partner Louise Vejar opened Unravel Travel in San Francisco in 1969. After three years, the company started a division, The Best of San Francisco Tours, which handled tours for convention groups. They planned unusual tours for such organizations as the AMA and American Bar Association. The tour division brought together the owners’ knowledge of travel and of San Francisco.

Eventually Unravel Travel and Best of San Francisco Tours split, and Martha Nell continued as President of Unravel Travel.

Martha Nell’s husband Al joined Unravel Travel after having opened Air California’s Northern California’s office.  Then in 1978, Al was approached by a Saudi who wanted to open the first Western managed and staffed travel agency in Saudi Arabia. It would serve ex-pats only.  Al took up the challenge and Martha Nell assisted from afar. She did make several trips to the country where women weren’t allowed to work. From San Francisco, Martha Nell was involved in hiring many of the men who would join Al in The Kingdom. They came from the United States, the UK, Australia, and Canada. Al ran the agency for three years.  

She sold the company to Sundance Travel of Newport Beach in 1973, just short of its 25- year anniversary. Sundance, one of whose owners was Tom Livermore of San Francisco, had wanted to have a presence in San Francisco and Unravel Travel offered the opportunity.

After selling Unravel, Martha Nell remained in the travel agency business. The last 20 years she was associated with Frosch Travel (originally Travel Advisors of Marin). Frosch was acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase in 2022.  She decided that after turning 90, it was finally time to retire.

Writing was always an important part of Martha Nell’s life. In 1971, Martha Nell’s book San Francisco at a Glance was published as part of Howard Hilman’s series of insider’s guide, mostly about restaurants. She liked to tell how she finished organizing her files for the book with the help of her children when the family rented a house in Papeete, Tahiti. Over the years Al and Martha Nell wrote travel articles, many published in the San Francisco Chronicle.   

During her career, Martha Nell traveled to 108 countries and sailed on over 80 cruises.  Travel was not only Martha Nell’s profession but also her passion.

Al died in 1984, the same year that her son Tucker also died. Two years later she married Denis Beatty of San Francisco. They also had many years of travel together. Denis died in 2002.

Among the many boards on which Martha Nell served, she enjoyed the Hamlin Alumni Board and her ten years on the board of The Heritage on the Marina the most. Then in 2014, she herself became a Heritage resident living “off campus” in one of their apartments.

She was a member of the St. Francis Yacht Club and the Junior League of San Francisco.

Martha Nell is survived by her daughter Alana Crow of Rohnert Park, stepdaughters Deirdri Gladwin of Millbrae and Victoria Campbell of Upton, Massachusetts, six step-grandchildren and two step great-grandchildren.

Martha Nell will be terribly missed by her daughter and so many wonderful friends and family that she has left behind. She truly filled the lives of those that crossed her path with so much love, compassion, and joy. She had a real zeal for life and learning of which her daughter Alana hopes to honor passionately.

Private services will be held. Remembrances may be made to Heritage on the Marina, 3400 Laguna Street, San Francisco, Ca 94123 and Hamlin School, 2120 Broadway, San Francisco. CA 95115