Delos Bellanger (a.k.a. Big Joe, Joe Bush, Joe, Jody), 73, of Mahnomen, MN, died Saturday, August 25, 2007, at Merit Care Hospital, Fargo, ND.

Delos Charles Bellanger was born May 16, 1934, at home in Beaulieu, MN, to Frank and Grace (McDonnell) Bellanger. He attended grade school in Beaulieu and participated in football and track while at Mahnomen High School, where he graduated in 1952.

Delos enlisted in the Marines in 1953, with basic training at Cherry Point, SC and served in California, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, and six months on a ship in the Mediterranean. He was honorably discharged on February 17, 1956 with the rank of Sergeant. Approximately a week later, he was called back to active duty and enlisted in the Air Force, where he was under obligated service until February 16, 1961. Delos moved to Los Angeles, CA, in 1960, where he took a job driving a tractor/semi from Los Angeles, CA to Chicago, IL. During this time, he also trained for two years to be an LPN at UCLA. Delos played semi-pro football and was discovered by a scout for the LA Rams and tried out for the pro-football team, but was taken out due to a knee injury during practice. On August 24, 1963, Delos married Elisa Hernandez Dominguez in the "Little White Chapel"in Las Vegas, NV. He then delivered bulk milk for Knutson Creamery to plants located in the outskirts of Los Angeles, CA. Delos moved back to Mahnomen, MN the spring of 1967, and worked for the Ness Construction Co. In 1968, he began his career in law enforcement, working as a police officer for the city of Mahnomen until 1975. Delos then became a deputy sheriff for Polk County, living in Rindahl (near Fertile, MN), retiring in 1989. In 1990, he returned to live in Beaulieu. During the time he was deputy sheriff, Delos also served as the Chief of Police for Mentor, MN from 1987-1991. He then took a position as security manager for the Shooting Star Casino in 1991, retiring for a second time in 1992.

Delos was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic church and a former member of the Knights of Columbus (1952), American Legion, MN Police & Peace Officers Assoc., Polk County Law Enforcement Assoc. (1965), NW Riot Tactical Squad (1970), MN Police & Chiefs Assoc. (1991), International Chief of Police Assoc. (1991) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (ending in 1966). While he especially loved to ride his Harley and was a member of H.O.G.S., he also loved to hunt, dance and listen to Spanish and polka music and was always ready to tell jokes for hours on end to anyone who would listen.

He is survived by his wife, Elisa, five children: Stephen (Terri) Gish, Hudson, WI, DelAllen (Tammy) Bellanger, Mahnomen, Shawn Bellanger, Milwaukee, WI, Erik Bellanger, Mahnomen, and Frank Bellanger, Mahnomen; 18 grandchildren, Ashley, Jaime, Lindsey, Damien, Tasha, Beau, Kory, Cole, Cadi, Alicia, Anabelle, Antonio, Angela, Alex, Erika, Phoenix, Danika, Furious; and his beloved dog "Boots".

He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Donald.