James “Jim” Dale Bellis, 67, of Aurora, MO passed away on Saturday, March 2, 2024, after a decade-long battle with cancer. He was born in Aurora on March 20, 1956, to Dale and Dorothy Bellis; the oldest of three children.
Brought up on the family farm raising cattle, agriculture became one of the passions of his life. Active in FFA, he served as a chapter president, area president, and state secretary. He was mentored by his agriculture teacher, Mr. Jim Golding, who introduced him to Hereford cattle, helped him pick out his first Hereford that started his herd, and empowered him to go to college at Mizzou to become an agriculture teacher. He was a mentor to many aspiring agriculture students.
He worked at Wheaton and Aurora High Schools as an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor. Then, served as the district supervisor of agriculture education with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. After retiring from the state, he was hired as the assistant to the Dean of the College of Agriculture at Missouri State University. He helped transform the MSU Department of Agriculture into the College of Agriculture. His farming accomplishments include receiving the Missouri Hereford Breeder of the Year award, serving on the American Hereford Association Board of Directors, and being inducted into the Missouri Hereford Association’s Hall of Fame.
He was a member of Orange Cumberland Presbyterian, where he attended church all his life. He was baptized in Honey Creek, going on to serve the church by playing the piano (along side his wife) and as an elder, serving multiple times as a delegate from Missouri Presbytery to the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly.
He met his wife Carla at Camp Cumberland during Convocation when he was in college and she was a junior in high school. They were married Aug. 12, 1978 and had three children.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Carla; his children, Jamie (Kevin) Johansen, Joanna (Neal) Wilkinson, and Jonathon Bellis; four grandchildren; his brother, Bob (Sharon) Bellis; his sister, Julie (Tony) Keatts; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
He is preceded in death by his parents.