Elwood Dale Belford's Obituary
Elwood “Dale” Belford, 75. Shawnee, Oklahoma native Elwood Dale Belford passed from this life in Dallas, Texas, to eternal life on Thursday, March 2, 2017. Dale was born in Shawnee to Robert Lois Belford and Lue Niles Belford on March 20, 1941. He attended Shawnee High School, where he was active in the Shawnee High School Band. While in high school he played the trumpet and was regularly called upon to pay Taps for veteran funerals in Shawnee. After high school Dale joined the U.S. Army where he served in the Intelligence Service. In his training, he learned to transfer radio communications into teletype messages for transmission. After his honorable term in the military, he used these skills to work for Western Union in Oklahoma City and was later employed by United Press International in Dallas, Texas. He would go on to work for Dallas Morning News, Typography Plus and, finally, Reilly Echols in Dallas for several years as a graphic designer: setting type and formatting pages for many publications, including ‘Boy’s Life’, before his retirement in 2011. In his retirement, he remained an active member of the CWA union. Dale was preceded in death by both his parents and brother, R.E. Belford, who passed shortly after birth. Dale is survived by daughter and son-in-law Stephanie and Shawn Piras, of Cincinnati, Ohio; daughter and son-in-law Scottie and Jared Belyeu, of Rusk,Texas; brother and sister-in-law Rev. Ray and Linda Belford of Shawnee; grandchildren, Makenleigh Macon, Crystal Macon, Anthony Macon, and Peighton Piras of Cincinnati, Ohio; Jade and Da’Kari Harvey, Zachary Belyeu, and Jeremy Belyeu, of Rusk, Texas; and great granddaughter Wynter Rayne Harvey of Rusk, Texas. Also surviving are: niece, Ashley Clayton and nephew, Robert Jordan Belford of Shawnee. Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 9th, between 4-6 pm at Restland Funeral Home, 13005 Greenville Ave, Dallas TX, 75243. A memorial service and burial will be scheduled at DFW National Cemetery later this year. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243.
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