Ella Kanaday Belch

Ella Kanaday Belch, 80, of Newport News, passed away peacefully on March 7, 2025, following a brief illness. She was born on August 10, 1944, in Caples, West Virginia, and had lived on the Peninsula for over 70 years.
Ella was a retired librarian from Thomas Nelson Community College, where she enjoyed her work and continued until the age of 76. She was also actively involved in her church, the Tabb Church of God (later named Breakthrough Worship Center), first serving as a Sunday school teacher and later volunteering in the food pantry ministry. Afterward, she attended the World Outreach Worship Center and continued volunteering at the food pantry there.
A devoted mother, sister, and aunt, she will be deeply missed. Ella was preceded in death by her mother, Lois Geneva Kanaday; her father, Joseph Carl Kanaday; and her brothers, Ronald Lee Kanaday and Ray Buford Kanaday.
She is revived by her son, Nathan Brent Belch of Newport News; sisters, Francis Kanaday Schultz of Gloucester and Kathy Annette Kanaday and her husband Robert Gordon of Gloucester; and brother Joseph Roger Kanaday and his wife Rebecca of Gloucester, and five nephews and three nieces.
The family will receive friends on Monday, March 10, 2025, at Amory Funeral Home in Yorktown from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. A private family ceremony will be held on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. In place of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Williamsburg Hospice House.