This is a Memorial page for my late husband, Jonathan J. Belak.

He left us way too soon, and will be forever missed by myself, my daughter and her family.

Born June 5, 1969 ~ died December 14, 2025

A Memorial Service was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Murrysville on Saturday, December 20,2025, followed by a luncheon at Laird Hall across the street from the church.

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It was a beautiful church service. Pastor Ed Gray and organist Hazel Braun both did a wonderful job with words and music to celebrate his life. During the service, I delivered a heartfelt eulogy and managed not to cry until the very end. My granddaughter Phoebe helped by standing with me while I spoke, to "be my rock". My son-in-law, Joshua also spoke during the service.


The Eulogy:

What can I say about my husband Jonathan. We were married for 33 1/2 years. Like all marriages, we went through some rough patches. When he ended up in the hospital in 2018, and again when he had his stroke in 2021, those issues were no longer important. The most important thing was to enjoy every moment that we had left together.

He was stubborn about some things and very easy going about others.

He was stubborn about the type of dog he liked. The bigger the better in his opinion. I would have been happy with any size dog, but he liked them to be at least 60-70 lbs and knee height.

Ask him what he wanted to eat for dinner however and most of the time his answer was "doesn't matter or I don't care". Though he was very good at finding recipes of new things to try, especially suited to both of our dietary restrictions. You see, he was diabetic and I am gluten intolerant and allergic to tree nuts. So there was a lot of foods that we made an effort to avoid eating.

He was very passionate about our electric vehicle club, the Three Rivers EVA, of which he was the President for the last 17 years. If you sat and talked with him for any length of time, the conversation would always end up being about electric vehicles. He also liked to tell people about his electric drag racing records. Yes, he had two. One on a motorcycle and the other in our three wheeled Zap Xebra.

During Covid, we found a BMW i3 that had a better range than my electric Mitsubishi, so that we could actually visit our daughter and her family without having to charge the car. But then after his stroke, he started looking for his dream car, a Tesla Model S. Finally in April of 2023, he found one for the right price and we traded in the BMW. It became his new baby and he enjoyed showing it off at car shows.

Due to his health issues, he spent a lot of time watching YouTube and most all of the people he followed had something to do with vehicles. Some were just electric vehicle related, like Transport Evolved, Now You Know and the Electric Viking. But he also liked watching several channels dealing with hot rods and old cars. Like Iron Trap Garage, Cold War Motors, DD Speed Shop and Halfass Kustoms.

They allowed him to watch them working on their project cars like he wanted to still be able to do. In fact, one of the reasons we got together was he was good at fixing cars. We were friends in high school and graduated together in 1987, but didn't start dating until 1991.

He had a Dodge Charger that he was redoing and I remember hanging out in the garage at his parent's house and watching him work on it.

He also enjoyed sports. He would watch the football games and then it was off to YouTube to watch channels like All Steelers Talk for their after game commentary. He played football in high school and had planned to play in college, but he injured his ankle in a snowmobile accident and that dream faded. But that didn't stop him from playing football with his friends. I remember hanging out and watching them play in the field below his parent's house. He also played softball and volleyball after we were married and encouraged Jolene to play too.

He was always good with his hands and liked to do woodworking and crafts. Before he had his stroke, he made toy cars, toy tractors, bird houses and all kinds of plaques. He also made furniture, like bookcases, picnic tables, benches and chairs.

He enjoyed the outdoors and loved going fishing. He also enjoyed watching nature from our living room picture window. The deer, squirrels, birds, turkeys, raccoons and much more visited with him on a near daily basis.

I could say so much more, but I am going to stop there.

I am going to miss him so much. But I will always carry him with me and cherish all my memories.

Thank you for coming today.

Obituary at Hart Funeral Home

In Loving Memory of Jonathan Belak
June 5, 1969 ~ December 14, 2025

Memorial Service
First Presbyterian Church
December 20, 2025 ~ 10:30 am

God saw you getting tired, and a cure was not to be. So He put His arms around you and whispered "Come, live with Me". With tearful eyes we watched you suffer, and saw you fading away. Although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest. We said a prayer to God, He knows, to us, you are the best. God will love you and keep you until we meet someday. May God grant you eternal peace and may your tender love watch over us always.

Hart Funeral Home, Inc. Murrysville, PA
(Prayer Card)

Pictures...

Links...

Three Rivers Electric Vehicle Association

National Electric Drag Racing Association - Drag Racing Records:

http://www.nedra.com/eighth_mile_records.html

http://www.nedra.com/quarter_mile_records.html

YouTube:

Transport Evolved and Transport Evolved: Take 2
Now You Know
The Electric Viking
Iron Trap Garage
Cold War Motors
DD Speed Shop
Halfass Kustoms and Halfass Kustoms The Other Half
All Steelers Talk

There were other channels that he also watched on a regular basis, but these are the ones I mentioned in the eulogy. At some point, I may add some of the others to this page.

Bonnie Belak
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