Esther Lee Bellatti Obit d. 09/23/08 Stillwater, OK: related, Susie Glasscock
Esther Lee Bellatti
Esther Lee “Tessie” Bellatti, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, in her home in Stillwater. Funeral services under the direction of Strode Funeral Home, will be held in St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Third and Knoblock, Stillwater, on Thursday at 10 a.m. with the Rev. Robert Fellows and the Rev. Christopher Miller officiating. Interment will follow in Fairlawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday in the Strode Funeral Home and in the church from 9 to 10 a.m. preceding the service.Esther Lee is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 68 years, Lawrence F. “Chub” Bellatti of the home; her two sons, Lawrence Lee Bellatti and his wife, Barbara, of Houston, Texas, and Dan Charles Bellatti of Stillwater; her three granddaughters, Julie Manning and her children, Scott, Michael and Katie of Keller, Texas, Jenny Miller and her husband, Chris, and their children, Elliott, Lacy, Garrett, Luke and Charlie of Bentonville, Ark. and Jill Flood and her husband, Braden, and their children, Reilly and Callaghan of Fayetteville, Ark. She is also survived by her brother-in-law, James Bellatti, his wife, Louise and daughter, Susie Glasscock and her husband, Kirby, of Stillwater and other nieces and nephews.Esther Lee was born in 1916 in Norman, the only child of Floyd Lee and Esther Johnson Swank. She attended Norman High School and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1937 with a bachelor of arts degree in library science. In Norman, she met and fell in love with her future husband, Lawrence Fitzhugh “Chub” Bellatti of Blackwell. They were married in 1940 and lived briefly in Stillwater until World War II. Tessie returned to Norman to live with her parents while Chub served in the Navy on the USS Tennessee in the Pacific Theater. Chub returned from the war in 1946 and they settled in Stillwater to raise their family.Tessie has faithfully and selflessly served the community of Stillwater in many capacities these past 62 years. She served St. Andrews Episcopal Church as a member of the Altar Guild. Tessie was a nurse’s aide in the Stillwater Municipal Hospital and later a volunteer in Stillwater Regional Medical Center. She was an active member of the Stillwater Alumnae group of Delta Delta Delta sorority and served as president of Stillwater Chapter U of PEO. Tessie was a Rotary Ann and was also a Cub Scout Den mother for her sons, Larry and Dan.Tessie and Chub greatly enjoyed their many friends – playing golf, sporting events of all types, particularly Oklahoma State University sports, the bridge club, the supper clubs, the Stillwater Country Club and going to the horse races in Hot Springs, Ark. Tessie and Chub loved to travel and have been to such places as Cornerbrook, New Foundland via newsprint ship, Italy, Alaska, Hawaii and Switzerland. Her family fondly recalls all the holidays, the trips to Colorado, the voyages on the Mississippi River steamboats and the traditional Labor Day weekends spent with the great-grandchildren at Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake, Mo. Tessie and Chub’s home has always been open to friends and family. Tessie loved people, took an active interest in everyone she met, is much loved and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.The family is grateful to Tessie’s wonderful care team, Judith Karman Hospice, as well as good friends, Diane and Walter Adams and Mary Ann and Mark Grimsley, for the many kindnesses they have extended to Tessie and Chub.In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 516 West Third Avenue, Stillwater, Okla. or Judith Karman Hospice, PO Box 818, Stillwater, Okla., 74076. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family at [email protected].
Stillwater NewsPress from 9/24/2008 - 9/25/2008
Oklahoma OK