John Alexander Bellan Jr.

1925 - 2018

John Alexander Bellan, Jr.

Jackson - John Alexander Bellan, Jr was born on July 23, 1925 in Vicksburg, Mississippi the son of John Alexander Bellan and Mary Junkin Bellan.

He was graduated from St. Aloysius High School in Vicksburg with the class of 1942. He attended the University of Mississippi before receiving a senatorial appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with the Class of 1947 with a Bachelor of Science degree and received a commission as an Ensign in the regular Navy. He subsequently attended the U. S. Navy Supply and Finance School in Bayonne, New Jersey. Upon completion of that school he served on active duty at the Naval Air Facility, Attu, Alaska and at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida. He resigned his regular navy commission and accepted a commission in the United States Naval Reserve and entered law school at the University of Mississippi. He was graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School in 1952 and was awarded a Juris Doctor degree.

Upon graduation from law school he was recalled to active duty with the Navy during the Korean Conflict and served two years aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) deployed off Korea and other areas. Upon release from active duty in 1954 he practiced law in Jackson, Mississippi for over a period of fifty years practicing primarily in the area of oil and gas law and real estate law. He held offices in the Hinds County Bar Association, the Mississippi Oil and Gas Lawyers Association and was co-editor of the Mississippi Lawyer for several years. He was chairman of the twenty-first Mississippi Law Institute. He was President of the Mississippi Estate Planning Council in 1967. During that period he remained active in the U. S. Naval Reserve and retired with the rank of Captain with over thirty five years of creditable service. He retired from the practice of law in 1992.

He was a member of St. Richard Catholic Church for over fifty years and served on the St. Richard School Board and the board of St. Joseph High School. He was active in the Catholic Foundation of Mississippi and served on the Executive committee for over eight years. He served several terms on the board of directors of the Mississippi Blood Services. He was currently a member of the Capital Club and River Hills Club and a former member of the University Club.

He is survived by his wife Joan Boone Bellan and their three children: Dr. John A. Bellan, III (Noella), Susan Boone Bellan O'Connor (Charles), and Catherine Junkin Bellan Bitterman (James) and five grandchildren, Jack Ratigan Bitterman, Henry Junkin Bitterman, Joanna Clare Bellan, Alexander Noel Bellan and Mary Hazel Bellan. He is also survived by his sisters, Mary Bellan Eidt (Edward) and Angela Bellan. He was predeceased by another sister Rose Bellan Ferguson and by his brother, William Junkin Bellan.

Visitation will begin at 10:00 am on Saturday May 19, 2018 followed by a Funeral Mass at 11:00 am all at St. Richard Catholic Church. Interment will be in Lakewood Memorial Park.