Elaine Funk Belangia

Elaine Funk Belangia went to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, October 4, 2020. A graveside service will be held Saturday, May 29, 2 pm, at Sunset Memorial Cemetery, St. Stephens, SC.

Elaine was born Dec 7, 1942, the only child of the late Donald Funk and Miriam Mims Funk, in Kingstree, SC. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Wash Belangia of Reevesville, SC;  her daughter, Kelli Shrivastava and husband, Sam and children, Ian and Miriam of Mason, Ohio; her son, Webb Belangia and  wife, Shannon and children, Grace and Caroline of Mauldin, SC;  as well as her adult grandchild, Trey and wife, Dana and daughters, Makinley, Stephanie, and Lilly of Sumter, SC.

While moving throughout the state as the spouse of a United Methodist minister, Elaine was a supportive wife, loving mother, dedicated teacher, and casserole queen.

A teacher at heart, she shared her passion for learning with SC school students for over 30 years. Elaine could do it all—she could teach a first grader how to read, inspire a ninth grader to appreciate a Shakespearean monologue, or encourage a church youth group broken down beside the road on a mission trip. Even after “retiring,” she continued to teach part-time as an adjunct English professor at USC Salkehatchie.

In all, Elaine was privileged to live in nine church parsonages, yet she was thrilled that during the last two decades of her life she was able to remodel a home of her own near St George, SC, where they had served in their first and last ministerial appointments.  During her early retirement years, Elaine enjoyed decorating her “new” civil-war-era home (without having to seek approval from a church committee),  growing and canning vegetables, discussing books with her book club, picking out tunes on the piano, vacationing at the beach with her grandkids, and creating casseroles out of Campbells soup and any available vegetable or meat (a lifelong hobby that some family loved but other beneficiaries dreaded).

Elaine received her MA from Furman University, her BA from Columbia College, and her high school diploma from St Stephen High School. She remained a learner and teacher to the end, spending her last year as a resident in the Memory Care Unit of the Springs Assisted Living Center in Simpsonville, SC, where she continued to mother other residents  and bring joy  with her lively sense of humor and tales of the past. She was proud to speak of her 1000’s of students, her children, and most of all, Wash--her third-grade sweetheart, the love of her life and partner in ministry and service.

In lieu of flowers, the family ask that donations be made to their local Alzheimer’s Association or through alz.org.

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