Nicholas F. Belicher

BELICHER, NICHOLAS F., Nicholas Francis Belicher, 88 of Howey-in-the-Hills, passed away on Sunday, May 8th. Nick was born in Chicago on December 9, 1916. He married Margaret Fortmann on June 15, 1940. They spent time between Florida and Wilmette, IL. In 1942, he started the Chicago-based Packing House By Products Company, a commodities brokerage firm that grew to include 35 brokers with offices in Jersey City and Boston. He served as President of the National Hide and Leather Association for two consecutive terms. In 1964, he bought the Floridan Country Club of Howey-in-the-Hills, with just one golf course and a 1950s clubhouse. By 1970, the property became a resort known as Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort and expanded over the years to include lodging, meeting facilities, a marina, two golf courses and a residential community. During his hospitality career, Nick was elected to Governor Kirk's Council of 100, became a Kentucky Colonel and was named Golf Father of the Year by Golfweek Magazine. His greatest adventure was in 1939, when he and a dear friend, Tex Bunteen, rode the length of Mexico, some 1400 miles, from Del Rio, Texas to well south of Mexico City. Nick and Margaret were married 61 years before her death on January 15, 2002. They are both survived by two sons, Bob (Linda) and Bud (Jayne), and four daughters, Donna (Tom) Line, Carol (Chuck) Kelsey, Michelle (Trey) Purser and Margaret "Peggy" (John) Clark. Grandchildren include Sharon, Scott, Megan, Erin, Austin, Eric, Merritt, Kevin, Kamrin, Whitney, Nicholas, Matthew, Morgan, Joseph, Andrew and Alexandra. Great Grandchildren include: Sophie, Luke, Margaret and Preston. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Lake and Sumter, 12300 Lane Park Road, Tavares, FL 32778. A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, May 13, 2005 at 10:30AM at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Mt. Dora. Burial will be at All Saints Catholic Cemetery in Chicago. Beyers Funeral Home, Leesburg.