When Olivia Daley created the YouTube video “The Past Century of Jacksonville through My Grandmother’s Eyes” as part of a college assignment, she contributed not just a personal family story but a significant journey through Jacksonville’s Riverside and revisited historical connections to remarkable world events.
Florence Joseph Belloit was born Sept. 15, 1924, at her parents’ home on Hogan Street, as she explained, “near where the city hall is now.” She was number six in a family of five daughters and three sons born to loving parents, both of whom had been born in Syria but met in Jacksonville. She recalls a happy childhood with lots of play with her siblings and a dog named Jeep, “a good sweet, dog” who used to come meet the kids as they came home from school.
She attended Annie Lytle Elementary School, John Gorrie Junior High and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1942. She loved school and was good in math, which later helped in many ways during her lifetime. She laughed as she recalled taking four years of Spanish from the legendary Lee teacher Mrs. Rivera, but “can’t speak a word of it.” Interestingly, her son Nick Belloit later took Spanish under the tutelage of Mrs. Rivera when he and his sisters, Bebe and Pam, went to the same high school.
“Daddy owned a grocery store on Hogan Street, and we lived upstairs,” Belloit recalled. She enjoyed playing in the store, waiting on customers, and ringing up sales on the old-fashioned cash register at the Joseph’s Grocery Store.
The Josephs were family friends with the Belloits – so close, in fact, that the Belloits were addressed as “Aunt” and “Uncle.” As fate would have it, Florence’s friendship with Nelson Belloit who was seven years older than she, would progress to dating for around six months, then a marriage proposal.
“I grew up and he got older,” she remarked in her cheerfully teasing way. “He gave me a ring. I just said, ‘YES!’ But, no, he did not get down on one knee.”
When asked if he was a handsome fellow, she gave a resounding, “Uh HUH!”
Before the engagement and wedding, Florence and her sisters enjoyed socializing and going to USO dances at the YMCA.
“Nelson liked to dance but he wasn’t very good at it,” she said. Her favorite song, “Tangerine” by Jimmy Dorsey, is from the Big Band era of elegance and romance and was on the Hit Music Chart in 1942. The lyrics refer to someone “getting the guys in a whirl” and photos of Florence from her young adulthood show a woman with movie star beauty and appeal.
She worked in accounting at NAS Jax, then later in the accounting department at Bell South. After her engagement, she stopped working outside the home.
“My daddy said, ‘When you get married, you don’t need to work,’ so as soon as I got engaged, I put in my notice and quit.”
Florence and Nelson were married on May 29, 1949, at The Jacksonville Woman’s Club on Riverside Avenue (also, where each of her children were married). She wore a gown from Purcell’s, Jacksonville’s premier clothing store at the time. After a honeymoon in Asheville, North Carolina, the couple moved to a brick house on Ingleside where they raised their children and where Belloit has lived for 74 years.
After the end of the war, Nelson – who had been arrested as a conscientious objector and sentenced to five years in prison because of his Jehovah’s Witness religious beliefs – had his sentence reduced to two years and nine months. Following in his parent’s footsteps (they had a grocery on St. Johns Avenue), he opened King Street Grocery and Market with his brother Johnny and operated there for 40 years. Nelson died in 2001 but was active in the Jehovah’s Witnesses for 64 years and an elder in the Avondale Congregation. When asked what she would like to do if she could go back in time, Belloit said she would like to be with her husband and go on a trip to California, where they had gone years ago.
A strength of faith is evident in this household of laughter, kindness, and warmth. The Belloit’s children, Nick Belloit (Diane), Bebe (Skip Oliver) and Pam (Tim Daley) are devoted to their mother, and her grandchildren – Olivia Daley and Chad and Liza Oliver – honor their grandmother, called “Seto” – Lebanese for grandmother.
“Seto is my best friend,” Daley stated. “She is loving, kindhearted. You can go to her for anything.”
“A good person. “Gracious.” A good neighbor.” A great cook – especially Lebanese food.” These are just some of the terms used by her children to describe their esteemed mother. Belloit is proud of her children and their accomplishments, mentioning that Nick is a mathematics professor. No wonder with her great math genes and the family’s history of merchandising. And Bebe’s artistic skills are on display throughout the home. Pam remarked that her mother had artistic skills and had wanted to be an architect.
Belloit relates the fascinating story of her aunt and uncle – age 10 and 12 at the time – boarding the Titanic alone after her grandfather was kept in Marseilles, France since he failed the passage test due to his hearing loss. They would not have survived without the amazing sacrifice of John Jacob Astor. Let her tell you the story on YouTube. “The Past Century of Jacksonville Through My Grandmother’s Eyes.”
At age 100, Florence Joseph Belloit is beautiful, witty, loving and a joy to her family and friends. The scripture Proverbs 31:26 seems a fitting tribute: “She opens her mouth in wisdom. The law of kindness is on her tongue.”
