Berry Bellomy

At 11:27 pm on 01/01/2015 at Baylor Medical Center of Grapevine, TX, Berry Bellomy, 91, passed away peacefully following an extended and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s Disease and a brief bout with double pneumonia. Earlier that evening he was surrounded by many of his loving children and grandchildren. While being comforted by his grandson Jeff’s reading of the Bible (John 14-15), he went home to his Lord. He was the sixth child of 13 children born to James Arra Bellomy and Margaret Florine Higgins Bellomy on May 4, 1923 in Proffitt, TX. Raised in Young County, TX he moved to Arlington as a young adult. In Nov 1942 he enlisted in the US Army Air Core. During his transfer to California, he became very ill and was moved to an army hospital in Albuquerque, NM where he spent the next six months recovering from rheumatic fever. After his recovery he was Honorably Discharged due to medical disability. On December 31, 1943 he married Mollie Ruth Wood of Arlington. They continued living and working mostly in Arlington until the mid-1970s, raising their family of four daughters. He was employed by National Life and Accident Insurance Company and upon his retirement moved to “the farm” which was located closer to his roots northeast of Throckmorton, TX. While living on “the farm” he enjoyed the hard work of a rancher and also the fruits of his hard labor! He cleared and plowed fields, sowed grain, ran cattle and loved every minute of his years there. Precious, his beloved Vizsla, was his constant companion on “the farm” and remained by his side until her death in October 2012. He lived on “the farm” until it became apparent in late 2009 that Alzheimer’s Disease had stolen his ability to be self-sufficient. At that time, he moved to Midland to live with his second daughter and her husband where he remained until his 91st birthday. Due to his declining condition he was moved closer to more family to Grapevine’s Woodridge Nursing & Rehab, where he resided until he became ill on New Year’s Eve 2014. Berry was nicknamed “Short” very early in life and at his full height of 5’ 10-1/2” he was always smaller in stature than his much taller brothers. Despite his nickname, he never ran short on his beliefs, his integrity, his morals, his compassion, or his love for friends and family! If you were lucky enough to call Short your friend, you were very rich indeed! Short never met a stranger, always had a smile for everyone and would help anyone in need even to his own detriment! During his retirement/stint on “the farm” he was also the primary care-giver for one older brother and sister and a brother-in-law. Short was very proud to receive his 50 year Master Mason award on July 1, 2009. Throughout his long life Short remained faithful to the tenants of the Masons. His life was a reflection of their shared traditional values, belief in the brotherhood of man, and in doing good works just for the satisfaction of doing them. Short was preceded in death by his former wife Mollie (2003), four sisters and six brothers and his Great-Granddaughter Reagan Grace Hejtmanek (2014). Short is survived by his four daughters and their families: Carol Wallis of Arlington, TX and her children Matt Wallis of Austin and Margaret Phillips and husband Mike of Euless, TX and great-grandchildren Virginia King & Katie Phillips. Mary Wilkinson & husband John of Midland, TX, and their two children Jeff Wilkinson and wife Jaclyn of North Richland Hills, TX and Brian Roberts and wife Serena of Midland, TX and great-grandchildren Mark Welmaker and Aiden, Ben & Cooper Wilkinson, and Mackenzie & Mikaela Roberts. Marge Harper and husband Wayne of Lipan, TX, and their two daughters Meredith of Aubry, TX and Jennifer and her finance Kevin Parham of Dallas, TX. Jan Bowers and husband Jack of Granbury, TX and their three children Julie Roeder and husband Mike of Frisco, TX Lynne Hejtmanek and husband Frank of Frisco, and Eric Bowers and fiancé Katie Scott of Grapevine, TX, and great-grandchildren Canon & Morgan Roeder and Reese & Reed Hejtmanek. He is also survived by two sisters, Ray Dell Gothard (husband Duane) of Arlington, TX and Helen Cox (husband Elick) of Lubbock, TX and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his very close friend Jimmy “Bimbo” Magin and close friends and neighbors Orville and Trina Lindsey of Throckmorton, TX, and many other long-time friends. Short will be greatly missed by the many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who were lucky enough to call him “DAD”, “GRANDdaddy” and even “HANDdaddy”! We all will miss his many “Dad-isms” which when spoken normally led to lots of laughter and friendly teasing around the room! The family would like to thank Short’s long-time Midland care-giver and friend, Ashley Fillmore of Midland. Ashley and her entire family still remain a constant source of compassion and friendship to Mary and John! We would also like to thank the entire staff at Woodridge Nursing & Rehab in Grapevine and Baylor Medical Center Grapevine and the physicians and entire staff at the Midland offices of Dr. Russell Akin, Dr. Richard Culbert, Dr. Michael Drgun, Dr. Manoher Gurru, Dr. John McKenna and Dr. P.J. Patel for their kind attentive care and concern shown to both Short and his family! A graveside service is scheduled for 11 am Saturday, April 18, 2015 at the Proffitt Cemetery in Proffitt, TX. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital or the Alzheimer’s Association of Midland at the addresses noted below or to a charity of one’s choice. Alzheimer’s Association 4400 N. Big Spring St. Midland, TX 79704 Shriner’s Hospitals for Children Online at: www.shrinershopspitalsforchildren.org To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Berry Bellomy please visit our Sympathy Store.