Birth date: Feb 26, 1951 Death date: Jan 3, 2018
LAKELAND- Steven E. Bellamy (Steve) passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family on January 3rd, 2018 due to heart failure. He is survived by his wife Jan Bellamy, his mother Barbara Bellamy-Logie, his sister Dus Read Obituary
Steve was an inspiration and motivation for my mission trips. As I went on short term trips, to South Africa for 3 years and to Namibia for 6 years, he always was an encouragement. He and Jan made it possible for more classrooms to be built at Liberty Heritage School in Ongwediva, Namibia and the family came to serve at Valley Dawn Christian School in South Africa. I will always remember Steve as the ultimate missions man. I am proud to be his sister-in-law.
Love ya Steve,
Marcia
Dear Jan, I am so sorry for the liss of your dear husband. Steve surely was a gem and loved by many. I met Steve back in the day if the plays at Highlabd Park and Inwould help with the makeup. Some how Steve always got stuck with me and would laugh that I got the cream of the crop. Little did Steve know he surely was the cresm of the crop. He always was good hearted, created a funny atmosphere and was fun to work with. He sure put his time and effirts on people that needed the Lord and as much so that needed Steve. I am here to tell you life is not easy without your best friend but somehow younwill get thru. The comfort of children and grandchildren is how God orovides us with the joy that passes all understanding. Thank you both for being such a joyful addition to most of us in your presence. Again, Jan I will keep you in my prayers because I promise you they will get you thru this. Lovingly, Sue Fagans
I had been teaching Sunday school to the high school and hosting high school boys small group in my home. I listened to the teens as they went to their mission trips and coming home with stories and memories. I heard a lot of memories of what fun things they did among their own groups and less about the lives they changed from the service they had done. I wanted to take some young men on a mission trip where the hard work they provided left a mark on peoples lives. So I prayed about it. Somehow, someone heard about my idea and told me about Steve. I met with Steve and he told me that he had been praying for someone to lead a small group of young men to come along on a mission trip. God in action. Steve was always where the action was. Steve was made to be a leader. He had great stories and jokes that made you moan. His laugh was infectious and warm. He talked with everyone and got to know their story. So, I gathered some whom could go. We took small groups along on three different trips all to Puerto Rico. Every trip, these young men were given opportunities to use tools they've never used before. We all did things we had never done or thought we could do before. We worked hard every day. We took showers in handmade shower stalls. We still took time in the evenings to have small group Bible studies. We all slept on air mattresses on the floor of various rooms within the churches. The stories I heard tell of those trips were of how hard the work was but done in service of others, and it was fun. We got to walk away and seeing our physical work ; the roof we put on the walls we built, the windows we put in, the cement we poured, the lighting we installed, the kitchen we refurbished, the floors we put down, the paint we applied. We heard the thank you's and saw in the faces of our new friends how what had been done was more than the sum of our labors. Steve was the conductor of our rag tag orchestra(s), and in the end, we gave ourselves in service to people we never met before. Steve never stepped forward to say it was him, because he gave God all the credit. And that is true, However, Steve is credited for being a good listener to what God is asking. And he liked asking others to join him in God's work. So, thank you, Steve, for asking. You touched a lot of lives, including mine, and what a mark you left.
Strength and kindness. Tough and tender. Leadership and love. Steve embodied these virtues. I’ve known many strong, tough leaders, but not many who could also be kind and tender – and incredibly fun. In the army Steve was in charge of a barracks full of recruits. When a guy wouldn’t get out of bed at Zero Dark Thirty, Steve wouldn’t yell. Steve wouldn’t douse him with cold water. Steve wouldn’t turn his bed over. Instead, Steve would get under the covers, cuddle up against him and whisper in his ear “Time to get up, Sweetie.” That’s the last time the guy slept late. Somehow that story reminds me of Jesus helping the disciples mature.
And like Jesus, Steve was not afraid of anything. I don’t know if he learned that after facing death in the jungles of Vietnam, but what I do know is that whether in the hollows of Virginia coal country or in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, I always felt safer when Steve was there. It was a sense that no matter what happened, Steve had the resourcefulness and resilience to handle it.
Also like Jesus, Steve had great emotional intelligence and intuitively knew how to connect with people and influence them, often through stories. When Steve was in his teens, he and a buddy one night got the brilliant idea to steal a fire extinguisher from a bank right across the street from Britton Plaza. They didn’t get the memo that the bank was staked out by Tampa’s finest because of a string of recent robberies. Steve’s description of what followed – the lights, the commands, the guns, the cuffs, the mug shot, the holding cell – would occasionally pop into my consciousness – and I assume the consciousness of lots of other young men – when I was considering cutting a corner. And the post-script: Steve never associated with that buddy ever again.
It was a number of years before I could define for myself the leadership Steve modeled, a leadership that reflected the leadership of Jesus. Leadership is taking responsibility for problems that you see need to be solved, and taking the risks and making the sacrifices to do what you can to solve them. Why else would you get involved with some screwed-up kid from a disaster of a family, or some impoverished village in a rundown country?
But perhaps the leadership of Jesus is shown best in the small, hidden things. Steve and I had rented an expensive drill for some church project and it was my job to return it. Instead, I left it sitting outside on an air conditioning unit in the rain for two days. Steve took it apart, cleaned the rust off, oiled it and somehow got the rental guy not to charge us for the late return. And Steve never said one word of reproach to me.
Steve, I know you’re having more fun than any of us could ever imagine, and I can’t wait to join in. Thanks, Buddy.
Dear Jan, Jake, Phil and family,
So many memories over the 20 plus years of our friendship with your family. We remember our mission trips. We remember that you encouraged us to visit HPN, which we did in 1997.
We enjoyed many meals together after church. Then there was the small group that we were a part of. And, of course, Phil and Brads games. You all have been special to us! We will miss Steve and that laugh of his.
We trust the Lord to give you everything you need to get through this tough time.
We will be in touch, and hope you know we are only a phone call away. We love you,
Rosemary and Davis
Steve was a great friend and 7 year landlord of mine in Florida. I am shocked to see of his passing and my thoughts & prayers are with you Jan. You are good people and I am deeply sad to hear Steve is gone already. He was a genuine kind person. He loved his family more than life itself. He spoke highly of all you have accomplished Jan & your boys. I have moved home to NH but will never forget either of you. So, so sorry Jan.
Debbie Elwell
My deepest and sincerest condolences to Jan, Jake, and Phil. I am without words to express the loss of my good friend. We had many good times together. We worked together, had fun together, laughed together, and shared our lives with each other. I think about some of our talks and plans to get together for some fun, but life some how got in the way and we never followed through. In my last visit he told me, "life is short". Thank you Steve for reminding me not to put off to tomorrow what I should do today. I could say a lot about Steve as I have known him for most of my life, but the most important thing I can say is he was my friend and willingly shared his life with me and my life was made better by him being a part of it.
I have known Jan for many years and known that she had a wonderful Christian man as a husband. He followed Jesus not just with words but with his life. He has left a great legacy that will live on in the hearts and lives of generations to come. We will be in prayer for the family for the next months as they grieve the loss but rejoice in having had such an amazing husband and father.
