John Peter Belocas

Sanbornville, New Hampshire - Mr. John Peter Belocas, of Acton, Maine and Sanbornville, New Hampshire, formerly of Newton, died Sunday October 14, 2007 in his home. He was 89. Born in Lowell on July 4, 1918, a son of the late Peter and Portia (Goutos) Belocas, John served in the U.S. Army during World War II and found himself in Europe between 1942 and 1945. He was involved in seven battle campaigns and 3 D-Day invasions. He also served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1952 and retired at the rank of Major.( To view John's veterans page, copy and paste this link, http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.00387/ ) John attended Boston and Columbia Universities, as well as the University of Paris. His teaching career included Northeastern University, Tufts University, and 23 years at Brookline High School as the Head Teacher of the Foreign Language Department. An avid sports fan, he enjoyed coaching many young students in high school football, baseball and golf. He was the husband of the late Doris G. (Maloney) Belocas, father-in-law of the late Robert A. Gath, and brother to the late George Belocas and Helen (Belocas) Pappas. He is survived by his children, Donna Gath Criswell and her husband, George, of Natick, George P. Belocas, of Watertown, J. Robert Belocas of New Hampshire, and Peter D. Belocas of Rhode Island. He is blessed with three grandchildren, Michael P. Gath of Framingham, Sharon M. Gath of Natick, and Katrina A. Belocas of Uxbridge and Rhode Island. He was the former father-in-law to Debra Kogut and is also survived by many loving extended family members. Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20, Waltham. Graveside Services will be held on Thursday at 11:15 a.m. in Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. Memorials may be made in his name to the Epilepsy Foundation of MA and RI, 540 Gallivan Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02124-5463.