Mary Margaret Bellamy, 94, of Overland Park, Kansas, formerly of Franklin (Arma), Kansas, passed away on December 28, 2023. She was born July 2, 1929 in Pittsburg, Kansas to Frank and Iva Wild.
Mary graduated from Pittsburg Senior High School in 1947 and then began a career as a telephone operator at Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. This afforded her the opportunity to eventually purchase her first car, a Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe 4-door sedan in black. She was very proud of this accomplishment, for a single girl in the 50s. She later married Herbert Bellamy and had two beautiful children, Margaret and David.
Motherhood became her full-time career, and she took her duties seriously. She talked often of how much she enjoyed keeping the house in order and being able to support her husband. She and Herb often went square-dancing and even would host parties at their home. She also loved to play card games with friends and would entertain herself with solitaire when she had downtime.
Her two greatest passions were quilting and baking. Quilting was something she had done since childhood and continued into her twilight years. She passed some of her sewing knowledge to both children and was prolific at completing intricate quilts for friends, family members, and clients. She was very proud of the fact that not a single quilt was stitched on a machine. She did all her work by hand. She would use a sewing machine to design and make many clothing items for her family. Some of her first projects were making dress shirts for Herb. Mary was very proud that he wore them often.
Baking was another passion she had all her life. There was always the smell of fresh-baked bread or cake wafting throughout the house. She would decorate many family members' celebration cakes in detailed piped frosting. Not only did the cakes look great, but they also tasted amazing as well. It could be said that it wasn’t a proper party unless Mary had made a cake for the occasion.
Mary was a very kind, quick-witted, family-oriented woman who is loved and will be missed dearly by her family. She is still with us, always, in all that we do and say.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Herbert; son, David; brother, Ivan “Bud” Wild and great-grandson, Lance Bellamy.
She is survived by her daughter, Margaret Blank (Terry); grandson, Brandon Blank; granddaughter, Mary Bender (Robert); grandson, Lucas Bellamy (Jocie); and great-grandchildren, McKennon and Roy Bellamy; daughter-in-law, Sherris Bellamy; sister-in-law, Carol Bellamy; and many other relatives and friends.
A public visitation for Mary will be held on Friday, January 5, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at McGilley & Hoge Chapel, 8024 Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park, KS 66204. Following the visitation, there will be a graveside service at 1:00 p.m. in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, Pittsburg, KS.
