Richard Ray Bellando

Richard Bellando, 88, passed peacefully at his home with his family around him at around 10 p.m. on Friday, July 4, 2025. 

A New Jersey native, Richard attended Pennington Prep school before earning a degree from Warren Wilson College in Swannanoah, North Carolina. He later attended Berea College, where he graduated with a degree in English Literature.

Having spent the past few years in Kentucky and North Carolina, Richard found himself in love with the mountains and the music and arts, and crafts which were being produced around him. It is this love that would shape his life. It was in a ceramics class at Berea College that he met his soon-to-be wife, Lila Rae Davis. The two were married in December of 1962.

Richard found moderate success with a musical group he started with some other Berea College Students, The Bingham Trio, named after the Berea College dorm where they lived in. They enjoyed regional success, playing well-attended shows throughout Kentucky and Tennessee.

Richard was later instrumental in coordinating the first Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen Fair in Berea, as well as being the founder of the Berea Crafts Festival. One of his most notable ventures was owning Churchill Weavers. Richard and his wife Lila were handpicked by Eleanor Churchill to take over the business from her in 1973. They successfully ran Churchill Weavers for over thirty years. The hand weavers made luxury women’s accessories, baby blankets, throws, and more, and were considered one of America’s finest hand weavers.

Richard worked for a time as Director of Berea College’s Student Craft Industries, held two terms as a Berea City Council Member, and served on the Berea Tourism Commission. He was a founding owner of Papalenos Pizza Restaurant, was a one-time owner of Halls on the River Restaurant at Ford, and had been involved with area Dairy Queen Restaurants. He worked to help form the Kentucky Craft History & Education Association (KCHEA), which educates and preserves Kentucky Craft traditions in the region.

Richard is survived by his sister and her husband, Alice Dee and Edward Moyer, his children, Tara Lynn and James Richard Bellando, as well as his granddaughters, Isabella, Layla and Ollie Bellando, and his great-grandson Iris Warren Bellando.

A celebration of his life will be held in the near future.