Ben Belue

Ben Belue -VALDOSTA - Ben Belue, 71, of Valdosta, was a devoted family man and lifetime sales executive, born in Anniston, Alabama on November 28, 1940 and raised in Macon, Georgia where he attended Lanier High School. The only child of a J.C. Penney executive, he went on to graduate from Georgia State University with a degree in business administration in 1963. The majority of his sales career was with Josten's for twenty-four years and before retirement he served as general manager of Toyota Forklift. Mr. Belue's community involvement made a positive impact locally. He was a longtime Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church where he helped to lead a movement to assist needy families at Christmas. He also was a longtime, successful Little League baseball coach with the Valdosta Boys Club. -Mr. Belue passed away on Friday, March 9, 2012 at the Langdale Hospice House after a lengthy illness. He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin F., Sr. and Sarah Lillie Boatner Belue. -Survivors include his wife, Sandra Clements Belue of Valdosta; his children, and their spouses, Buck and Kelley Belue of Cumming, Beth and Ed Cope of Savannah, Blake and Gwen Belue of Cumming, Guy and Robin Belue of Valdosta; nine grandchildren, Audrey, Braden and Rhett Belue, Heather Clark, Brett McElrath, Lance and Hunter Belue, Chase and Cole Belue; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Randy and Judy Clements of Cochran. -Funeral services will be held at 4P.M., Sunday, March 11, 2012 in the chapel of Carson McLane Funeral Home with Dr. Phil West and Rev. Mac Weaver officiating. Burial will follow in Riverview Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends on Saturday from 6-8pm at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of South Georgia, P.O. Box 1727, Valdosta, GA 31603 or to the First Baptist Church Food Ministry, 200 E. Central Avenue, Valdosta, GA 31601. -Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanecares.com. -Carson McLane Funeral Home.