James P. Belay, 70, of Rising Sun, Maryland, passed away peacefully on Monday, April 11, 2016, at Christiana Hospital.

Jim is survived by his loving wife of 46 years, Brenda (Ross) Belay; son Wade Belay and his wife Ginny; daughter, Sha Peterson; and 5 grandchildren; Nick and Grace Belay, and Haley, Kayla, and McKenna Peterson, his sister Carol Briggs and her husband Mike, special cousins Art Galyen and Butch (John) Firko, his Aunt Dot and Uncle Russ Currier and Aunt Bessie Dvorak.

Jim was born on January 19, 1946, in Wilmington, DE. He was the son of the late, Paul and Katherine (Kiloski) Belay. Jim graduated from Fletcher Brown Technical High School in 1965 and went on to serve in the US Navy from 1965 – 1969, serving 1-1/2 years in Vietnam. He was employed by Delphais Collision Service in West Chester, PA for over 20 years, and also worked at Winner Ford Body/Paint Shop and Porters Body/Paint Shop from which he retired in 2010. An avid hot rod enthusiast, Jim continued to work on street rod restoration in his shop “The Wreck Room”. Many of his vehicles were featured in magazines and went on to win national awards.

A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, May 14, at R.T. Foard Funeral Home, P.A., 111 S. Queen Street, Rising Sun, MD, where family and friends may bring their “old” cars to honor Jim and his passion for hot rods. Those bringing their “old” cars must arrive at 10:00 am and all others should arrive at 11:00 am. A service will be at 12:00 pm with continued time of celebration until 2:00 pm. A rain date is scheduled for May 15.

Memorial contributions may be made payable to Season’s Hospice and sent in care of the funeral home.