Pete Belch

   Dolphus Leon “Pete” Belch, 86, of 1734 Rocky Hock Landing Road, Edenton, NC, died Monday, March 21, 2016 in Washington County Hospital, Plymouth.

   Mr. Belch was born in Bertie County on January 6, 1930, and was the son of the late William Thomas and Mary Pierce Belch. A retired service technician with Sears, he was a member of Rocky Hock Baptist Church, had retired after 20 years of service with the Edenton-Chowan Rescue Squad where he served as Captain of Unit 3, and many years played the steel guitar in both “The Rocky Hock Rebels” and at David’s Red Barn. An Army veteran of the Korean War, he had retired from the North Carolina National Guard with the rank of Sergeant First Class after more than 22 years of combined service.

   In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by sisters, Netia Smithwick, Inez Cowan, Vivian Layton, and Mae James; by brothers, Lloyd, Jarvis, and Waverly Belch; and by a daughter-in-law, Dawn Belch.

   Surviving are his wife of 58 years, Mary Lou Peele Belch; three sons, Douglas Belch and wife Sandra, Wade Belch, and Tim Belch and wife Carla, all of Edenton; a sister, Cornelia Privott of Currituck; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

   Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel of Miller Funeral Home & Crematory, 735 Virginia Road, Edenton, and will be officiated by his pastor, Dr. James Horton. Burial with military honors will follow in Beaver Hill Cemetery. Friends may join the family in the funeral home the hour prior to services, and all other times at the residence.

   Memorial contributions may be made to any chapter of the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org), or to the building fund of Rocky Hock Baptist Church, 113 Rocky Hock Church Road, Edenton, NC  27932.

   Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.