H. James Belcher

H. James Belcher relocated to live in heaven Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.

He was born in Devils Lake, N.D., on Aug. 20, 1944, to Harold and Selma (Lee) Belcher. He grew up with seven sisters and one brother on a farm near Fort Totten, N.D. He graduated from Sheyenne, N.D. in 1962. He then attended Oak Hills Bible Institute in Minnesota and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. A drafted Vietnam era veteran, he was a chaplain's assistant in Okinawa.

He married Sheryl Kunkel in 1970 in Everett, Wash. Together they had three children, all of whom graduated from Glasgow High School.

He retired in 2004 from the Corps of Engineers as a power plant operator/high voltage electrician. His passion for hunting and fishing kept him in Montana. His laughter is still a living memory with his dear friends. His retirement job of driving the activity bus was another great joy to him. He encouraged and cared about students from Frazer, Glasgow and Nashua. He also grew bountiful gardens and loved to can sauerkraut, pickled beans, corn, crab apples, beets, dill pickles and fantastic salsa. He also loved being a grandpa.

Welcoming him into heaven are his parents, one sister and one brother.

He is survived by wife, Sheryl Kunkel-Belcher; three children, Kimberlee and her husband, Mohammed Badal, and their sons, Ihsaan, age 7 and Ilahn, age 5, of Virginia, Kirsten of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Matthew of Colorado Springs, Colo.

As per his request, no memorial service was held. The family held a celebration of his life on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. A spring military procession will be held in Sturgis, S.D. Date to be announced.