Denise Rae Belcher's Obituary
Denise Rae Belcher, 61, passed away at St. Mary’s Hospital on April 16, 2019 due to complications following surgery. She was born September 12, 1957 in Des Moines, Iowa to A. Doyle and Pearl (Brunsvold) Auestad the youngest of four girls. Her oldest sister Cynthia Dulaney and her parents preceded her in death.
The family moved to Newton, Iowa where she graduated from Newton Senior High in 1975 as part of the schools 100th class. She continued her education at the medical institute of Minnesota and obtained a license as a veterinary technician. Denise married Alan Belcher at Dove of Peace Lutheran Church on October 9, 1987. They moved to Decatur in 1991 and she began working at Coca Cola in Springfield as an inventory specialist. Tired of commuting she began her career as a pharmacy technician with Walmart and was a great asset to the Decatur store and was soon going to celebrate her 20 year anniversary there.
Denise’s love for animals was lifelong and she always said her kids had four paws. She leaves behind her beagle rescue, Penny and her black cat that showed up on her back door step one Friday the 13th Angus! She had no children of her own but was godmother to Heather Schumacher, Justin Puryear and Dallas Hunt. She was a devoted aunt and friend to all who crossed her path. She will be dearly missed by many whose lives she touched.
Surviving are her husband, Alan Belcher of Decatur; her sisters, Vivian Auestad of Globe, Arizona and Andrea Muzzarelli of Pontiac; her nieces and nephews, Andrew Dulaney, Tim Dulaney and Lela Collier, all of Missouri; Chan Gamache of Globe, Arizona; Steve Claussen of Garwin, Iowa; Heather Schumacher of Rockford; Justin Puryear of Bellevue, Nebraska; several cousins in Iowa, Arizona, Colorado, California, and Texas; three step-children, Alan Schwalbe Jr., Connie Tomlin-Sinkler, and Virginia Muhleman of Decatur.
A memorial service will be held on April 22, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. in Macon, Illinois at the Faith Life Family Church. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the church.
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