Jeanie Belliel

Some people dedicate their lives to their careers, or their hobbies, never finding fulfillment. Jeanie Belliel wasn’t one of them. Jeanie found true happiness by devoting her life to the three most important things: faith, family and friendship. More than anything, Jeanie was a faithful Christian, and a loving daughter, sister, mother and friend. Today her life, and her love, lives on in all who knew her.

Jeanie’s story began on a cold winter day in 1952, in the bustling city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Those were turbulent times in this country, which was battling the Korean War overseas and the Cold War and Red Scare here at home. Amid those anxious times, Harvey and Geraldine (Scheidel) Belliel found a reason to celebrate, with the birth of a beautiful baby girl, a daughter they named Jeanie.

Jeanie was the second of the couple’s six children, joining her older brother John, and younger siblings Lois, Jackie, Mike, and Ted. Jeanie’s dad was a hardworking truck driver, while her mother cared for the home and the children. The family were faithful members of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, where the basis of Jeanie’s lifelong faith was formed.

Jeanie attended Holy Trinity Elementary School, before heading off to Comstock Park High School. She enjoyed high school, and especially enjoyed going to the football games on Friday nights, or ice skating at the park with her friends.

Jeanie and her family were dealt a difficult blow when she was a teenager, when her father sadly died 1n 1969, while she was in high school. They persevered, through their powerful faith, and as a family.

Jeanie graduated from Comstock Park High in 1970, and found work at Seyforth & Associates, a commercial advertising firm in Grand Rapids. She later worked for 2/90 Sign Systems, too. Eventually she had more than a career to consider, however.

One day Jeanie met a man named Philip VanSuilichem, and the two hit it off. They began dating, fell in love, and were soon married, June 4, 1978 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. It wasn’t long before the couple became parents, as well. They were blessed with two beautiful little girls in the coming years, first by daughter Jennifer on November 6, 1982, and later Melissa on May 13, 1984. Jeanie was so thrilled and proud to become a mother, and loved her daughters dearly. The year 1984 was a bittersweet one for her, however, as she sadly lost her mother that same year.

Jeanie’s marriage to Phil ended in 1988 after ten years, and the newly-single mother went back to school to help provide for her family. She attended Davenport College, and after graduating, she began working at Interface, an office distribution company in the city. She later went to work at Fifth Third Bank, where she remained the rest of her career, until October of 2007.

Jeanie and the girls lived in a nice home on Academy Street in Grand Rapids, where she raised her daughters, and created a wonderful place for them to grow up. They lived there 13 years, and enjoyed walking down to the park and around Reeds lakes. Eventually they moved to a home on Lauderdale Street, where Jeanie lived the rest of her days.

Jeanie was a wonderful mother and homemaker, who enjoyed making her home a true haven, inside and out. She loved working in her yard, keeping it meticulously maintained and always looking beautiful, from the spice gardens she grew, to the bird boxes and feeders she kept filled around her yard, enticing all manner of feathered friends to visit.

Jeanie loved bird houses, and collected keepsake boxes to decorate her home, along with her cherished Dickens Villages, and beautiful assortment of blue glass pieces, from bottles to plates and other dishes on display.

Jeanie was a wonderful home decorator, but an even better cook. She made wonderful chicken alfredo, goulash, teriyaki chicken and much more, and her pies were out of this world! Raspberry, blueberry, apple, pumpkin, she could bake them all, and her Milky Way cheesecake was too good for words. She always brought dessert to any gatherings.

Jeanie and her family were very close, and she saw her siblings often, especially at Thanksgiving, their main holiday tradition. She was always a very helpful person, though, and if her family or friends ever needed her for anything, they knew she was a phone call away.

Jeanie’s family was an important part of her life, as was her deep faith in the Lord. She was a devout, lifelong Catholic, and a faithful member of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, where she served as a Stephens Minister. She never missed Sunday Mass, and was active in several prayer groups, too. Jeanie prayed early and often, for her family, her friends, and everyone she knew.

Jeanie would call upon her faith later in life, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. She battled it bravely, undergoing surgery, chemo and radiation therapy, and the disease went into remission. Two years later, however, the cancer returned, this time in her arm. She underwent more treatments, and again battled it into remission for a time.

Eventually it returned once again, metastasized in other areas of her body. Jeanie went to live with her sister Lois and her family. They often read Scripture and prayed together. In the fall of 2007, her health began to decline, and on December 29, 2007, she entered Blodgett Hospital. On January 14, 2008, she entered Faith Hospice, where she sadly died on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, at the age of 56.

Jeanie was a wonderful woman, who lived a wonderful life, a life so full of family, faith, and friendship. She was always a positive, cheerful woman, and despite her challenges in life, she loved the Lord and felt so blessed. Jeanie was a loving and dedicated daughter, mother, sister and friend, but more than anything, she was a blessing to all who knew her. She will be so greatly missed.

Jeanie is survived by her daughters, Jennifer VanSuilichem, Melissa (Ryan) Knappen; her brothers and sisters, John Belliel, Lois (Steve) Parker, Mike (Mary) Belliel, Jackie Eden, Theodore (Sharon) Belliel; many aunts uncles, nieces, nephews cousins and many friends. Jeanie was preceded in death by her parents, Harvey and Geraldine Belliel. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday at 10:30 AM at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 1449 Wilcox Park Dr. SE (located one block S. of Fulton, E. of Carlton Ave) Burial in Holy Trinity Cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited to meet her family on Thursday from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home – Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. NW, where a vigil and service of remembrance will be held at 7:00 PM. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Van Andel Institute for Cancer Research. To sign her guest book and to share your own memory of her, please visit her web page at www.lifestorynet.com