Robert Bellah

Robert A. "Bob" Bellah, 86, formerly of Canyon, died Monday, May 31, 2010 in Lubbock. A memorial service will be held Friday at 10:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Canyon with Dr. Mike Bellah officiating. Arrangements are by Brooks Funeral Directors. After serving in WWII in the European theatre, Second Lieutenant Bellah returned home to work at the family grocery business in Canyon. In the next 25 years, he would manage Bellah"s Grocery in Canyon, help begin some of the first convenience stores in Amarillo (the Short Stop Drive-ins), own and operate full-service grocery stores in Amarillo, Tulia and Lockney, own a small grocery store/ski shop in Red River, New Mexico, serve as an officer in the state grocer"s association and on the Canyon City Commission. In 1969 Bellah moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he became a real estate broker. He retired in 1990, first in Ruidoso, New Mexico and, then, in Lubbock. Bellah remained active, including volunteering with the American Cancer Society and serving as Activity Director at Shadow Hills Retirement Village in Lubbock. Shortly after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Bob Bellah married Cecilia Staples in Clovis, New Mexico. They were married for 66 years. In February, 2009, Bob married Doris Hudnall in Lubbock. The couple spent the last year of Bob"s life visiting nursing homes as well as grandchildren in California, Arizona and Texas. Bellah was preceded in death by his first wife, Ceil; two brothers, J. C. and Max, a sister, MaryAnn Keeling, and a daughter, D"Lynne Bellah Stone. He is survived by his wife, Doris of the home, three children: Bob Bellah and wife Adriana of Lubbock, Craig Bellah and wife Patti of Omaha, Nebraska, and Dr. Mike Bellah and wife Charlotte of Canyon, a sister, Renna Beth Barnard of Canyon, 14 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials to Hidden Falls Ranch, Wayside, Texas.