Kathryn A. Bellman, of Lincoln, NE, passed away on December 26, 2024 at the age of 72 years. Kathryn was predeceased in death by her husband of 49 years, James F. Bellman Jr, who passed away in December, 2023; her parents, William H. Jones and Kathryn M (Fink) Jones; and her sister Karen Jones. She is survived by her brother William (Bill) Jones of Jacksonville, Florida, her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Hermanson of Waterloo, NE, as well as a niece and nephew.
Kathryn was born in East Haddam, Connecticut on 6/5/1952. Her father served in the Navy, so the family traveled a lot when she was a child. She graduated Suma Cum Laude from Michigan State, and then attended the University of Minnesota in Duluth, MN for graduate work. While attending college in Duluth she met and married her husband in 1974. Kathryn and her husband moved to Lincoln, NE in 1978, where they both pursued PH.D’s in English. Kathryn also attended the University of Nebraska, College of Law, graduating in 1981 and was admitted to the Nebraska State Bar in September, 1981. She received a PH.D in Linguistics in 1990. Kathryn did some private practice of law from her home before joining the staff of the Nebraska State Bar Association in January, 1998 and continued working with NSBA until November 1, 2014. She worked first with the Volunteer Lawyers Project/Lawyer Referral program before becoming the Director of Continuing Legal Education and the Editor of the Nebraska Lawyer magazine. After this employment she became certified as a Mediator and handled mediations through the Mediation Center in Lincoln, NE until her death.
Kathryn and her husband were true scholars. Kathryn studied numerous languages, earning a certificate in French while at the University of Minnesota. She enjoyed studying the classics in literature and various subjects in the field of law. Her PH.D dissertation in 1990 was entitled “Languages and Rhetoric in Brown v. Board of Education. She was also a published author joining her husband in authoring four or five CLIFF NOTES analysis/summaries of classical literature. Kathryn and her husband were very generous over the years with their donations to many different organizations that benefited animals, Wild Life, Legal Education, Legal Advocacy Groups, as well as the Colleges they attended and their church, First Plymouth Congregational Church of Lincoln, Nebraska.
A memorial service and celebration of life will be held at this church on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 1:00 pm.
If you have any questions please contact Mary S. Wenzl, wenzllaw@gmail.com, or phone 402-560-5086.
Services
Celebrate of Life
1:00 pm CST
First-Plymouth Church
2000 D St., Lincoln, Nebraska
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