The Van Buren Public Schools honored three Distinguished Graduates at a special ceremony April 28: Dr. Eugene Bleil, Class of 1938; Frank Rochowiak, Class of 1957; and a special posthumous award for Harold Belanger, Class of 1967.
A related ceremony followed with induction of new members to the Belleville High School National Honor Society.
The Distinguished Graduate Program was enacted by the Board of Education in 1997 to recognize the honorable and worthy graduates of BHS who have brought distinction to the school and community.
Dr. Eugene Bleil, Class of 1938
Dr. Eugene Bleil, M.D., received the honor for his devotion to the medical profession and his years of service as a member of the U.S. Air Corps and a Japanese Prisoner of War.
A graduate of the BHS Class of 1938, Dr. Bleil is a medical doctor and esteemed veteran. He attended Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University), 1938-39 on an invitation to train for the Olympics in track and field. At the end of 1939, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and was sent to the Philippine Islands because the U.S. was at war with Japan. He fought in the Bataan Peninsula as part of the provisional infantry, lacking food and adequate munitions.
Eventually he and the other soldiers were forcibly transferred to Camp O’Donnell by the Imperial Japanese. Over 78,000 soldiers were compelled to walk the horrific 65-mile Bataan Death March. For over five days and four nights they were without rest, food, and water; however the march lasted about 30 days. During this time, thousands of soldiers were murdered and tortured.
He was held as a Prisoner of War for 42 months and worked in Japan for Nippon Steel. After the war, he was released, having been placed under a 50-year gag order with the mandate that he not write or speak about the war without permission upon penalty of dishonorable discharge.
In 1946 he was discharged from the service, classified as unfit for military duty, and 100% disabled. One parting comment given to Mr. Bleil was, “You won’t live to see 40.” His weakened condition as a result of the horrific conditions he suffered during the war prevented him from obtaining employment.
He attempted to register for college at Michigan State College, yet found resistance to his acceptance due to his health issues. After six visits to the Michigan State College registrar, he was granted probationary entrance to the school. Against all odds, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in three years and completed one year of graduate school to get a degree in chemistry.
He graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1955 and was licensed as doctor of medicine in a 1956 post internship. He took a residency in Anesthesiology 1956-58 and will continue to serve the Art of Medicine until January 2016.
Frank Rochowiak, Class of 1957
Frank Rochowiak received the honor for his advocacy and community service in the field of agriculture education.
Rochowiak is an agriculture educator and promoter. He attended Michigan State University with a concentration in Agriculture. He also attended Henry Ford Community College in the Pipefitter Skilled Trades Program and retired as a pipefitter supervisor from Ford Motor Company and Rouge Steel after 40 years of service.
At that time, Frank and his brother Walter Rochowiak opened Garden Fantasy Greenhouses in Belleville. Garden Fantasy donated plants and their services to local organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Wayne County Fair Association, local churches and schools. They also farmed 1,000 acres in Belleville and sold fresh vegetables and fruits at their roadside market.
Frank served as founder of the Tri-Two-Cylinder Tractor Club to preserve the history of farm machinery and tractors of all brands and provide education to the public. He taught tractor safety classes for young farmers promoting safety on the farm. The club also offered demonstrations on how to repair and restore antique machinery.
Frank has been a member of the Michigan Farm Bureau for almost 60 years. He has been awarded Michigan Farm Bureau Volunteer of the Year Award (2002) and Farm Bureau Promoter of the Year (2012). Serving Wayne County, he was chairperson of promotion education, membership committee, and newsletter for 17 years. He also traveled to China to promote Michigan Agriculture and has attended Michigan and Washington, D.C. legislative sessions promoting agriculture. As a Farm Bureau leader, Frank spearheaded and arranged for Project R.E.D., Rural Education Days, at the local Wayne County Fairgrounds where 1,000 to 1,500 third graders each year learned about where their food comes from.
In 2005, the non-profit organization Wayne County Fairgrounds in Belleville was in financial trouble and the community was in danger of losing the historical 4-H and agricultural way of life. As president of the Wayne County Fair Board, Frank and the other board members were able to establish solvency for the organization. Community activities such as the 4-H Annual Fair, Halloween activities and track entertainment, and the updated dining hall for graduations, weddings, showers, meetings and employee functions have provided fellowship for adults and children.
For the last 65 years, Frank has been sharing his compassion and knowledge of agriculture locally, nationally, and globally.
Harold Belanger, Class of 1967
Posthumous
Harold Belanger received the honor of BHS Distinguished Graduate for his community service.
He was an avid enthusiast for sportsmanship and participation in athletics. He was born Dec. 5, 1948 and was one of 15 brothers and sisters that made up the big Belanger family. All 15 were born and raised in Belleville. To be exact, they were raised on Belleville Road in the first house south of the current fire station. All 15 brothers and sisters went on to graduate from BHS. Harold graduated in 1967 as a varsity letter winner in basketball and baseball. Upon graduation, he continued his education and athletic career at Washtenaw Community College, also playing basketball and baseball. In 1969, Mr. Belanger spent a season in the Montreal Expos minor league system, but would return to his hometown that same year. It was then that a 44-year coaching career would begin.
From 1970 to 1990, Mr. Belanger was a volunteer coach in the Belleville Cougar football program, spending a number of those 20 years heading the varsity team. He would later return to the program in 2001 to coach his son. Also starting in 1970, Mr. Belanger became a volunteer coach with Belleville Area Little League. He coached a variety of different age groups ranging from T-Ball to Bi Leagues (18 and under).
From 1991 to 2013, Coach Belanger brought his passion for kids and coaching to BHS, where he coached girls’ basketball for 10 years and softball for 22 years. He was an assistant coach with the variety softball team alongside one of his dearest friends, Peggy Curtis. Together, they not only developed great softball players, great teams, and won numerous championships, but more importantly they developed great people.
Harold Belanger is an outstanding example of what it means to give back to a community that gave him so much. There was nothing that meant more to him than his family and this community. Harold fought a long battle with diabetes that ended on Jan. 7, 2014 when he passed away. He is survived by his wife Cindy and son Daniel who both would like to thank the community of Belleville and Van Buren Public Schools for their support and the recognition as a BHS Distinguished Graduate.
National Honor Society Inductees
Jonathan Acuna
Nigel Beaton
Sage Beatty
Noah Borgdorff
Demeatry Brooks
Zachary Buhro
Lauren Byes
Lauren Clark
Matthew Clark
James Clearwood
Kamali Clora
Brea Crawford
David Date
Jason Dytyniak
Arielle Ewing
Cole Fleming
Catarina Gasser
Bradley Higgins
Jacob Hill
Kevin Hogan
Sarah Jeng
Alexis Karolak
Nathaniel Michna
Tyler Osborne
Pauline Paulo
Victoria Perez
Blake Phillips
Daniel Platt
Cailyn Quinn
Alexandria Ragland
Lauren Rainey
Jennifer Schmidt
Alyssa Schubert
Gavin Schultz
Travis Sherman
Ria Stewart
Sara Stoelton
Lexie Stypelkoski
Morgan Valdahl
Montaya Wall
Aylana Ward-Byrd
Rebecca Washington