Michael Bellia

Andover – Orazio Michael “Mike” Bellia was a father, husband, grandfather, brother, and loyal friend. Mike was devoted to his wife Fran and was a family man first. Raising three girls with Fran, Mike could be found coaching pony club (although he had no experience with horses) or building the many stone walls and walkways around the family home.  In his later years, Mike became a locally famous "gentleman" farmer on the land farmed by his parents.

Born on June 15, 1931 in Andover, MA, Mike was the son of the late Antonio and Carmela (Cavallaro) Bellia, the husband of the late Mary Frances “Fran” (LaRochelle) Bellia and brother of the late Rose Bellia. Mike spent most of his life on Greenwood Road in Andover, building a house next door to his parents, where he and Fran spent 58 years together. A lifelong Catholic, he graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1949 and was the first in his family to attend college. Mike put himself through Northeastern University, picking green beans in the morning before commuting from home to Boston, to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering.  After graduation, he served in the US Army stationed in Germany. 

Mike worked for over 30 years at Raytheon as a mechanical engineer and served a term as President of the Management Club. For many years, the Bellia home was host to the annual Raytheon softball game and party, which started with a game in the Bellia back field and ended with a lobster/steak/corn on the cob feast, festivities by the pool, and card games. In retirement, Mike and Fran traveled throughout the US, Europe, Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. On one memorable trip, he took the family to Belpasso, Catania (Sicily) to visit his father’s childhood home and family, where Mike's Sicilian relatives recognized him walking down a Belpasso street and invited the family in for gelato on bread, a local delicacy. 

Mike carried on the family tradition of farming by running his beloved farm stand, Bellia’s Farm. Bellia’s Farm, which ran on the honor system, served friends and neighbors for many years in the early 2000s. The farm’s specialties were Mike’s corn and tomatoes, and a variety of other vegetables and fruit. Mike loved the many notes and recipes that his loyal customers left him about his produce.

Mike died surrounded by his family on November 1, 2023. He is survived his children, Beth Vumbaco and her husband John of Andover MA; Michelle Bellia and her partner, Will Ennis of Portland OR; Lisa Bellia and her husband, Bob Doan of Decatur, GA; his grandchildren Kyle, Sean, Audrey, Bella, Eliot, Mason, and Carter; his sister, Angela (Bellia) Wakeley of Laconia, NH; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours on Friday, June 14, 2024 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Cataudella Funeral Home, 126 Pleasant Valley Street, Methuen. A funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, June 15, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Augustine's Church, 43 Essex Street, Andover. Burial will follow at West Parish Cemetery, Andover. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to High Pointe House Donate Online - Tufts Medicine Care at Home (homehealthfoundation.org).