Lee Belmas - December 9th

Lee Belmas was born and raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the City of Ironwood.  That makes him an original “Yooper.”  He has been married to Fran for 51 years and has two grown children, Brad and Melissa, who live in Mosinee and Kronenwetter, along with their four grandchildren.  He taught in public schools for twelve years where he was a principal for three years, was the head varsity boys' basketball coach for two years, and grade school coach for 8 years.  In 1983 he felt a calling to go into professional church work and received a Director of Christian Education Degree from Concordia University in St. Paul, MN.  He spent 28 years as a DCE (Director of Christian Education), in the North Wisconsin District, working with 220 congregations.  This month he received an award from Concordia University: Distinguished Alumni Service Award.  In 2007, Lee received a life-saving liver transplant (had a week to live) at UW-Madison Hospital.  Since that time, he has raised money to send several thousand under-privileged kids to a week of summer camp at our District Camp, Camp Luther, in Three Lakes, Wisconsin.  In his thirteen years of retirement, he worked seven years for the Green Bay Packers as an usher at all the home games,  still works very part-time in the ministerial health and wellness area with professional churches who aren’t pastors or teachers, and he recently wrote a book on how to share the Gospel Message with others.  Life is good!