John Wayne Bellmer

John Wayne Bellmer, 72, of Manitowish Waters, passed peacefully on July 28, 2022, at Meriter Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife, Linda, at his side.

John was born to Dean John and Mary Lorraine (Dodd) Bellmer in Malden, Massachusetts, and graduated from Malden High School. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1972 to 1974 as a rifleman and a pitcher for the Marine Corps baseball team. Upon his honorable discharge, he became a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service.

John was a lover of nature and the outdoors. His favorite place to be was in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where he loved to go camping, hiking, bicycling, and downhill skiing at every opportunity.

John was a people person, and everyone he met, he considered a friend. He loved his job as a letter carrier and had a special fondness for his elderly customers. His cheerful visits were often the highlight of their day, and his genuine interest in their stories was rewarded with homemade cookies, coffee cakes, lemonade, and hugs. He had a gift for being nonjudgmental, always seeing the good in people rather than their flaws, and he was a champion of the underdog. A kid at heart, John connected with little children and delighted in their company. Friends and family were the most important thing to him. He kept his ties with his old friends in Massachusetts, the friendships that he valued the most.

Fate brought John and Linda together in 1982, when Linda, a native of Manitowish Waters living in Boston, bought a home in Nahant, Massachusetts, at the same time that John was assigned to her mail route as a letter carrier. Their friendship grew into love, and they were married in 1989 at the log home that they built together in Saugus, Massachusetts. In 2004 they moved back to Manitowish Waters, a place that John loved to visit, where he enjoyed a quieter life of kayaking, watching the eagles and loons on Manitowish Lake, and listening to his favorite rock 'n' roll music that soothed his soul. He treasured time spent with new friends, some of whom referred to him as "Boston John" or "BoJo" and who enjoyed his Boston accent. He never tired of humoring their requests to say "Pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd."

John is survived by his wife Linda (Johnson) Bellmer of Manitowish Waters, WI and his brother Robert (Kim) Bellmer of Malden, Massachusetts, cousin Wally (Linda) Bruce, nieces and nephews, and many, many longtime friends.
He was preceded in death by his father, Dean John Bellmer; his mother, Mary Lorraine Simpson; his stepfather, George Simpson; and his dear friend and surrogate father, Robert Keddie.

Thank you to the doctors, nurses, and entire staffs at Marshfield Clinic in Minocqua and Meriter Hospital in Madison for their compassionate care. 

Cremation services will be provided by Nimsgern Funeral and Cremation Services. No services will be held at this time. Instead, please remember John when you see an eagle soaring or hear a loon calling at night.

Donations if desired may be made to the Disabled American Veterans at www.dav.org.Online condolences may be shared at nimsgernfuneral.com

NIMSGERN FUNERAL & CREMATION SERVICES OF WOODRUFF, WI IS SERVING THE FAMILY.