Lawrence Woodrow Belcher Sr.
April 26, 1929 - March 05, 2017
Lawrence Woodrow Belcher Sr. left this world to walk with his Savior and be reunited with his wife, Marie Oliver Belcher, who preceded him in death April 19, 2000, on Sunday night, March 5, 2017. Two children, Linda Belcher Deming and Michael Ray Belcher, Sr. also welcomed him to his eternal Home.
Cotton, as he was known to family, or Brother Larry, as he was known to his church family, was born in Holden, West Virginia on April 26, 1929 to Wilburn P. and Mary Moore Belcher. As a child of the depression, he learned young that hard work and honesty were the benchmarks of a successful life.
Starting life as one of 10 children in a poor coal mining town, he didn’t finish his high school education as he was required to work and contribute to the family’s household expense. Despite the fact that he didn’t have a high school diploma, he was a very educated man and added that to a lifetime of common sense and observation of the world around him.
He married at the age of 19 in Paintsville, Kentucky and by the age of 21 he had 3 babies in diapers. After working in several coal mines around Logan County for around 10 years, he brought his young family north to Michigan to find work in 1959.
With little more than the meager contents of a moving van and a monumental work ethic, he settled in Ypsilanti in 1961. He worked as a bus driver for Greyhound and eventually became a welder at Unistrut in Wayne where he retired in 1994. Before “playing the market” became fashionable, he invested his money and made shrewd financial decisions that allowed him and Marie to live comfortably in retirement.
A very strong man of faith in Jesus, he was a member of Pineview Church for over 20 years and helped physically build the new church when it moved to Textile Road and was involved in many church activities over the years. Everyone loved and respected “Brother Larry.”
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Marie; son, Michael R. Belcher and daughter, Linda Belcher Deming; a great-grandson, Lance Michael Belcher; brothers: Virgil, Wilburn Jr., James and Franklin; sisters: Marzetta Belcher Rutherford, Wanda Belcher Frazier, and Hazel Belcher McMillen. Left to mourn their loss but celebrate his reunion are son Lawrence W. (Anna) Belcher, Jr.; grandchildren: Rodney S. (Amy) Belcher, Michelle (David) Champagne, Heidi (Kelly) Belcher, Michael R. (Libby) Belcher II, Laura (Kevin) Robinson and Jessica (Shamon) Jones; 12 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild; sisters: LeVeta (L.D) Fields and Sandra (Robert) Luh; daughter-in-law, Peggy Belcher and son-in-law, Norman Deming. Funeral service will be celebrated on Thursday, March 9, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Pineview Church, 6400 Textile Rd., Ypsilanti, MI with Pastor Nate Nix officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery, Ypsilanti, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Pineview Church. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home where the family will receive friends Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. and at the Church on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until time of service at 11:00 a.m.
Obituary courtesy of www.janowiakfuneralhome.com
April 26, 1929 - March 05, 2017
Lawrence Woodrow Belcher Sr. left this world to walk with his Savior and be reunited with his wife, Marie Oliver Belcher, who preceded him in death April 19, 2000, on Sunday night, March 5, 2017. Two children, Linda Belcher Deming and Michael Ray Belcher, Sr. also welcomed him to his eternal Home.
Cotton, as he was known to family, or Brother Larry, as he was known to his church family, was born in Holden, West Virginia on April 26, 1929 to Wilburn P. and Mary Moore Belcher. As a child of the depression, he learned young that hard work and honesty were the benchmarks of a successful life.
Starting life as one of 10 children in a poor coal mining town, he didn’t finish his high school education as he was required to work and contribute to the family’s household expense. Despite the fact that he didn’t have a high school diploma, he was a very educated man and added that to a lifetime of common sense and observation of the world around him.
He married at the age of 19 in Paintsville, Kentucky and by the age of 21 he had 3 babies in diapers. After working in several coal mines around Logan County for around 10 years, he brought his young family north to Michigan to find work in 1959.
With little more than the meager contents of a moving van and a monumental work ethic, he settled in Ypsilanti in 1961. He worked as a bus driver for Greyhound and eventually became a welder at Unistrut in Wayne where he retired in 1994. Before “playing the market” became fashionable, he invested his money and made shrewd financial decisions that allowed him and Marie to live comfortably in retirement.
A very strong man of faith in Jesus, he was a member of Pineview Church for over 20 years and helped physically build the new church when it moved to Textile Road and was involved in many church activities over the years. Everyone loved and respected “Brother Larry.”
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Marie; son, Michael R. Belcher and daughter, Linda Belcher Deming; a great-grandson, Lance Michael Belcher; brothers: Virgil, Wilburn Jr., James and Franklin; sisters: Marzetta Belcher Rutherford, Wanda Belcher Frazier, and Hazel Belcher McMillen. Left to mourn their loss but celebrate his reunion are son Lawrence W. (Anna) Belcher, Jr.; grandchildren: Rodney S. (Amy) Belcher, Michelle (David) Champagne, Heidi (Kelly) Belcher, Michael R. (Libby) Belcher II, Laura (Kevin) Robinson and Jessica (Shamon) Jones; 12 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild; sisters: LeVeta (L.D) Fields and Sandra (Robert) Luh; daughter-in-law, Peggy Belcher and son-in-law, Norman Deming. Funeral service will be celebrated on Thursday, March 9, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Pineview Church, 6400 Textile Rd., Ypsilanti, MI with Pastor Nate Nix officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery, Ypsilanti, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Pineview Church. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home where the family will receive friends Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. and at the Church on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until time of service at 11:00 a.m.
Obituary courtesy of www.janowiakfuneralhome.com
Lawrence Woodrow Belcher Sr.
April 26, 1929 - March 05, 2017
Lawrence Woodrow Belcher Sr. left this world to walk with his Savior and be reunited with his wife, Marie Oliver Belcher, who preceded him in death April 19, 2000, on Sunday night, March 5, 2017. Two children, Linda Belcher Deming and Michael Ray Belcher, Sr. also welcomed him to his eternal Home.
Cotton, as he was known to family, or Brother Larry, as he was known to his church family, was born in Holden, West Virginia on April 26, 1929 to Wilburn P. and Mary Moore Belcher. As a child of the depression, he learned young that hard work and honesty were the benchmarks of a successful life.
Starting life as one of 10 children in a poor coal mining town, he didn’t finish his high school education as he was required to work and contribute to the family’s household expense. Despite the fact that he didn’t have a high school diploma, he was a very educated man and added that to a lifetime of common sense and observation of the world around him.
He married at the age of 19 in Paintsville, Kentucky and by the age of 21 he had 3 babies in diapers. After working in several coal mines around Logan County for around 10 years, he brought his young family north to Michigan to find work in 1959.
With little more than the meager contents of a moving van and a monumental work ethic, he settled in Ypsilanti in 1961. He worked as a bus driver for Greyhound and eventually became a welder at Unistrut in Wayne where he retired in 1994. Before “playing the market” became fashionable, he invested his money and made shrewd financial decisions that allowed him and Marie to live comfortably in retirement.
A very strong man of faith in Jesus, he was a member of Pineview Church for over 20 years and helped physically build the new church when it moved to Textile Road and was involved in many church activities over the years. Everyone loved and respected “Brother Larry.”
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Marie; son, Michael R. Belcher and daughter, Linda Belcher Deming; a great-grandson, Lance Michael Belcher; brothers: Virgil, Wilburn Jr., James and Franklin; sisters: Marzetta Belcher Rutherford, Wanda Belcher Frazier, and Hazel Belcher McMillen. Left to mourn their loss but celebrate his reunion are son Lawrence W. (Anna) Belcher, Jr.; grandchildren: Rodney S. (Amy) Belcher, Michelle (David) Champagne, Heidi (Kelly) Belcher, Michael R. (Libby) Belcher II, Laura (Kevin) Robinson and Jessica (Shamon) Jones; 12 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild; sisters: LeVeta (L.D) Fields and Sandra (Robert) Luh; daughter-in-law, Peggy Belcher and son-in-law, Norman Deming. Funeral service will be celebrated on Thursday, March 9, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Pineview Church, 6400 Textile Rd., Ypsilanti, MI with Pastor Nate Nix officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery, Ypsilanti, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Pineview Church. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home where the family will receive friends Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. and at the Church on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until time of service at 11:00 a.m.
Obituary courtesy of www.janowiakfuneralhome.com
April 26, 1929 - March 05, 2017
Lawrence Woodrow Belcher Sr. left this world to walk with his Savior and be reunited with his wife, Marie Oliver Belcher, who preceded him in death April 19, 2000, on Sunday night, March 5, 2017. Two children, Linda Belcher Deming and Michael Ray Belcher, Sr. also welcomed him to his eternal Home.
Cotton, as he was known to family, or Brother Larry, as he was known to his church family, was born in Holden, West Virginia on April 26, 1929 to Wilburn P. and Mary Moore Belcher. As a child of the depression, he learned young that hard work and honesty were the benchmarks of a successful life.
Starting life as one of 10 children in a poor coal mining town, he didn’t finish his high school education as he was required to work and contribute to the family’s household expense. Despite the fact that he didn’t have a high school diploma, he was a very educated man and added that to a lifetime of common sense and observation of the world around him.
He married at the age of 19 in Paintsville, Kentucky and by the age of 21 he had 3 babies in diapers. After working in several coal mines around Logan County for around 10 years, he brought his young family north to Michigan to find work in 1959.
With little more than the meager contents of a moving van and a monumental work ethic, he settled in Ypsilanti in 1961. He worked as a bus driver for Greyhound and eventually became a welder at Unistrut in Wayne where he retired in 1994. Before “playing the market” became fashionable, he invested his money and made shrewd financial decisions that allowed him and Marie to live comfortably in retirement.
A very strong man of faith in Jesus, he was a member of Pineview Church for over 20 years and helped physically build the new church when it moved to Textile Road and was involved in many church activities over the years. Everyone loved and respected “Brother Larry.”
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Marie; son, Michael R. Belcher and daughter, Linda Belcher Deming; a great-grandson, Lance Michael Belcher; brothers: Virgil, Wilburn Jr., James and Franklin; sisters: Marzetta Belcher Rutherford, Wanda Belcher Frazier, and Hazel Belcher McMillen. Left to mourn their loss but celebrate his reunion are son Lawrence W. (Anna) Belcher, Jr.; grandchildren: Rodney S. (Amy) Belcher, Michelle (David) Champagne, Heidi (Kelly) Belcher, Michael R. (Libby) Belcher II, Laura (Kevin) Robinson and Jessica (Shamon) Jones; 12 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild; sisters: LeVeta (L.D) Fields and Sandra (Robert) Luh; daughter-in-law, Peggy Belcher and son-in-law, Norman Deming. Funeral service will be celebrated on Thursday, March 9, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Pineview Church, 6400 Textile Rd., Ypsilanti, MI with Pastor Nate Nix officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery, Ypsilanti, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Pineview Church. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home where the family will receive friends Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. and at the Church on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until time of service at 11:00 a.m.
Obituary courtesy of www.janowiakfuneralhome.com
Family Members
Siblings
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Virgil Raymond Belcher
1921–1997
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Marzetta Belcher Rutherford
1922–2006
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Wanda Lee Belcher Frazier
1923–1999
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Hazel Virginia Belcher McMillen
1924–2009
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Wilburn Parmer Belcher Jr
1927–1946
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LaVeta May Belcher Fields
1931–2019
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James Edward "Butch" Belcher
1933–1986
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Franklin Mansfield "Sonny" Belcher Sr
1941–2003
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