Dorothy Marie Bodeman Bellamy Hill
Dorothy Marie Bodeman Bellamy Hill
Dorothy Marie Bodeman Bellamy Hill of Lockhart, Texas passed away in Austin, Texas on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2004 after a long and courageous struggle with cancer.
Dorothy was born near Lockhart to Gus Bodeman and Marie Hartung Bodeman on Sept. 30, 1918. When she was six years old, she moved with her family to Lockhart, where she li
ved for the rest of her life. She was a graduate of Lockhart High School. Dorothy married William Robuck Bellamy on Jan. 6, 1939. Together, they made a happy, loving, Christian home in Lockhart, where they raised two children. Dorothy and William were very active in church, community, and school activities and had many friends.
After the death of her husband in 1962, Dorothy worked in the Lockhart ISD tax office and for many years with Stripling-Blake lumber company. She married Hunter Hill of Lockhart on Jan. 5, 1980 and enjoyed twelve happy years with Hunter until his death in 1991. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Lockhart from the age of six until her death, except for the period 1980 to 1991 when she was a member of the First Christian Church.
Dorothy loved designing and sewing, and she wore out several sewing machines creating hundreds of beautiful handmade doll dresses. Many young girls awakened on Christmas morning to the delight of receiving one of the creations.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents and her husbands. She is survived by her sister Marjorie Barnes of Denison, Texas; daughter and son-in-law Barbara and George Cardwell of Austin; son and daughter-in-law William R., Jr. and Kathryn Bellamy of Fort Worth, Texas, grandson and granddaughter-in-law Robert and Teresa Cardwell of Austin; grandson Bryan Bellamy of Austin; granddaughter Priscilla Bellamy of Fort Worth; many dear nieces, cousins, and friends; and her best pals Daisy May and Midnight.
The family would like to thank Dr. Demetrius Loukas for the Christian love and care which he extended to Dorothy and her family. The efforts of Dr. Loukas and the staff at Southwest Regional Cancer Center of Austin made Dorothy”s last few years possible.
Private, family, graveside services, conducted by Dorothy”s friend and former pastor, Rev. Don Duvall, will be at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3 at Lockhart Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Fulmer-Seidenberg Memorial Patient Care Fund for families experiencing financial hardship associated with cancer Fulmer-Seidenberg Memorial Fund, Attn: Ann Meyer, 901 W. 38 Street, Suite 200, Austin, Texas 78705 or to the First United Methodist Church of Lockhart (First United Methodist Church, 313 W. San Antonio Street, Lockhart, Texas 78644).
Mrs Hill (Bellamy when I knew her) was my mother’s (Mrs Mildred Nix) next door neighbor on West Prairie Lea when I got out of the Air Force in 1976 and I was intermittently in Lockhart for a couple of years in the late 1970s when not at A&M (finishing up the degree I’d started before the Air Force took me away for 4 years).
I learned that my mother and father (Sidney Oran Nix; he died in 1962) had known Mrs Bellamy (Hill) and her first husband, William Bellamy, back in the 1930s. My dad worked with Mr Bellamy at the Court House and (according to a story my mother told me) ‘took credit’ for starting the introductory process that eventually led to Mr Bellamy and Miss Bodeman getting married.
The story goes (read this with a smile) that Mr Bellamy had just broken-up with some young lady and he was moping around .. clearly feeling downcast. My dad said “I don’t know what you’re feeling sorry about; there’s the prettiest girl in town” and as he said that pointing out a window to where Dorothy Bodeman could be seen walking along a sidewalk. If I remember this correctly my folks were in attendence when Mr Bellamy and Miss Bodeman got married. (I’m not sure but I believe that Mr and Mrs Bellamy were at my dad’s funeral in May 1962 and Mr Bellamy may have been one of the pallbearers.)
In the late 1970s Mrs Bellamy (Hill) had a grandson around five years of age and she was amused that he thought that it was nice that his grandmother had a driveway that he could dig in (her drive was gravel or shell as was common with homes in that part of town back then).
I thought that Mrs Bellamy (Hill) was a nice lady and I know that my mother enjoyed having her for a neighbor. (I can still see Mrs Bellamy’s smile.)
– Paul N. Nix
Garland, Texas
24 March 2013