Where Are They Now?

Ralph Bellamy has had many jobs over the years. Now, working with his brother as the caretaker of a cemetery in Walters, Oklahoma, he’s finally found a place he wants to stay. “It’s peaceful out here,” he said. “There’s no big rush to get things done. You take your time and do it right.”

Bellamy graduated from high school in 1981, and spent over a few years moving around from town to town and working in fast food restaurants.

He worked his way up to manager several times, before he eventually decided to try his hand at construction.

He’d picked up some basic building skills from his family growing up. “I had learned from my older brothers how to build things, and then I just learned over the years on the job,” he said.

He traveled around with different companies for a while, laying bricks in Gainesville, TX, working for Atlas Construction in Tulsa, OK, and worked at a welding shop and a saw mill in Kentucky.

He married in 1986, and he and his wife moved up to Oklahoma, to the small town of Walters. There, he began looking for a local job, and settled on working for the city. “I went back once a week to see if they had any openings, and I finally got on,” he said.

He spent the next decade working for the City of Walters in the street department. His job included caring for city roads and buildings such as the library.

“We started out paving roads and picking up brush and taking care of any potholes,” he said.

When he left his job at the City, Bellamy decided to get back into construction, building schools and jails in Oklahoma.

When the projects slowed down, Bellamy began working jobs around town as a handyman, and then a few years ago found his current job as a caretaker at a cemetery.

His brother had worked there for more than 30 years, and Bellamy came on to help out.

Bellamy enjoys the pace of the job and the kinds of work he does. “We keep everything mowed, and if there’s any headstones in danger of falling we level those, and we do setups for services,” he said.

He plans on staying at his current job for the rest of his career. “My brother is the superintendent here, and he’s fixing to retire,” Bellamy said. “I’ll be taking over, and then I’ll be in charge of everything out here.”

When he’s not working at the cemetery, Bellamy enjoys spending time with his partner, Sharon Miller Mode.

The two have been together for five years, although recently Miller-Mode has been experiencing some health problems.

“I stay close to the house with her most of the time, and when I get some time I’ll do a little handyman work for a side job,” he said.

Bellamy has two daughters, Nola and Brittany, and a stepson, Wayne, from a previous marriage.

He attends church in the area at Antioch Baptist Church. Bellamy’s faith informs his advice to Dublin graduates:

“Just trust in God,” he said. “Let Him take care of you.”

Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other graduates, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.