Sep 3, 1921 - Sep 29, 2009
Obit for Henry posted by Jo Aguirre
Enid News and Eagle
Date: Sep 30, 2009
The funeral for Henry Louis Bellmon, 88, of
Billings, will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, at First Presbyterian Church,
1001 S. Rankin, Edmond, with the Rev. Andrew Tevington officiating, and 3 p.m.
at First Presbyterian Church, 422 8th, Perry, with Rick Rhodes officiating.
Burial will be in Union Cemetery, Billings. Services are under the direction of
Dugger Funeral Home, Billings. Visitation will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at
Bellmon Library, Billings. The family will receive friends at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday on the 4th Floor Rotunda, Oklahoma state capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln,
Oklahoma City.
He was born Sept. 3, 1921, in Tonkawa to George Delbert
and Edith Caskey Bellmon and died Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, at St. Mary's
Regional Medical Center.
He attended Glenrose rural school and graduated from
Billings High School in 1938. He graduated from Oklahoma A&M in 1942 with a
bachelor's degree in agronomy.
He served in the Marine Corps during World War II from
1942 to 1946 as a tank platoon leader in the Pacific Theatre. He participated in
four landings on the Pacific Islands, including Iwo Jima. He was awarded the
Legion of Merit and a Silver Star for bravery during the battle of Iwo Jima.
He served a single term in the Oklahoma House of
Representatives from 1946 to 1948.
He married Shirley Osborn, Jan. 24, 1947, in Billings.
She died July 24, 2000.
He was elected the first Republican governor of Oklahoma
in 1962. He then was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968, serving for 12 years in
Washington, D.C. He returned to Oklahoma and was once again elected state
governor in 1986.
He taught at Oklahoma City University, Central State
University, Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. He also
worked as a consultant for OSU, finding applications and funding for graduate
research projects. He also served as director of Oklahoma Department of Human
Services.
He married Eloise Bollenbach April 6, 2002.
He was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Perry.
Surviving are his wife, Eloise, of Kingfisher; three
daughters, Gail Wynne of Enid and Pat Hoerth and Ann McFerron, both of Billings;
two stepsons, Scott Bollenbach and Barry Bollenbach, both of Kingfisher; one
brother, George Bellmon of Enid; four grandchildren; five stepgrandchildren; and
five stepgreat-grandchildren.
In addition to his first wife, Shirley, he was preceded
in death by 11 brothers and sisters and one stepgranddaughter.
Memorials may be made through the funeral home, P.O. Box
41, Billings, OK 74630, to Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation or OSU
Foundation's Henry Bellmon Endowment.
Condolences may be made at www.duggerfuneral home.com.
