Barbara Stephens Belanger

DURHAM- Mrs. Barbara Stephens Belanger, 89, passed away Monday, February 13, 2023 at Hillcrest Convalescent Center in Durham.

Mrs. Belanger was born July 2, 1933 to the late Frank and Lucille Stephens in Durham, NC. She grew up in East Durham and attended East Durham Junior High and graduated from Durham High School in the early 1950s. She was a 1974 graduate of North Carolina Central University and won the Chancellor’s Cup as Class Valedictorian.

Mrs. Belanger was a natural leader with a service-minded heart. She demonstrated her passion for education and serving others through her career of teaching and shaping young students at Holloway Street Elementary School and Morehead Elementary School for over 25 years. Mrs. Belanger was a member of Calvary Baptist Church and enjoyed the friendships and memories she made while traveling with her fellow church members and her New Beginnings Sunday School classmates. Her love for travel led to many trips around the country including San Francisco, Disney World, New York City, Washington D.C., the North Carolina mountains and the Outer Banks. Her favorite place to spend time with her family was right here in North Carolina, at Holden Beach. She was known for baking delicious oatmeal cookies and lemon bars, and never let a birthday, anniversary or special date go by without sending a card. Her love for family, her thoughtfulness, her enthusiasm for life, all with the humble ability to laugh at herself, will be remembered by her loved ones.

Mrs. Belanger is survived by her son, Bob Belanger, Jr. (Julie); daughters, Michelle Belanger King (Todd), Melissa Belanger Good (Bob), Nicole Belanger Hockaday (James); sister, Marjorie Branton; nine grandchildren, Nathan Leathers (Ashley), Robert Belanger III (Tiffany), Elizabeth Belanger Hatchell (Eric), Laura Belanger Lum (Michael), Julia Good, Clayson Good, Cole Hockaday, Sam Hockaday, Hannah Hockaday and four great-grandchildren, Mia Leathers, Lilli Leathers, Parker Maldonado, and Lillie Belanger.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband, Robert Gerard Belanger, Sr.; sisters, Frances Stephens Lynch, Mildred Stephens McCubbins, Betty Stephens Getman and Mary Ann Stephens Johnson; brothers, Hezro Stephens and Ben Stephens.

A private service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be directed to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation http://www.bcrf.org/ or National Multiple Sclerosis Society http://www.nationalmssociety.org/.