Chabrier Belliot

Raphael Chabrier Belliot, a long time and well known resident of the Queens Village community died on May 5, 2013 after a short illness. Chabrier was named after Emmanuel Chabrier, a French composer. His father, the late Pierre Montrevillie Belliot, was a captain and the conductor of the orchestra of the Gendarmerie and Palais National of Haiti. Chabrier loved music and played the piano and the saxophone during his early years. His diverse interests included an adoration of French poetry, a love of travel, and a surprising penchant for Western movies. Chabrier also collected rare coins and stamps; he was very creative and with loving and caressing hands, he made paper fanals (lighthouses) which he gave to his grandchildren and friends.

Chabrier was born in Hinche, Haiti. His family moved to Port-au-Prince in 1953 where he met and courted Veronique Pierre-Louis. They married in 1956 and he immediately assumed his role of father to her two children Lesly and Yanick. The couple soon expanded the family with the birth of Daniele, Clarems, Claudie, Chantal, Sandra, Sheila and Norma. Chabrier was devastated when he lose his five year old son, Clarems, succumbed to meningitis in 1964.

Chabrier was the founder and director of Ecole Notre Dame des Victoires, a private primary school in Port-au-Prince. He and Veronique managed the school until immigrating to the United States in 1966. After the initial struggle of learning English and adjusting to the new culture, Chabrier and his family settled in their new home in Queens Village, New York in 1973. Many neighbors remember him as the man on the bicycle. As he grew older, the neighbors saw his as the "guard" walking and watching over the neighborhood wearing his Cowboy hat. Chabrier was one of the founders of Casegha-USA (Association des Anciens Scouts et Guides d'Haiti), a non-profit organization and a member of the Central Branch of the International Scout and Guide Fellowship. Casegha-USA members are well known for their work rendering assistance to the elderly in the Haitian community in New York, and the impoverished youth in Haiti.

Chabrier has joined his loving wife Veronique who passed in 2002. He is survived by his daughters Daniele, Claudie (spouse, Jacques) Chantal, Sandra (spouse Patrick) Sheila, and Norma. His step children Lesly and Yanick (spouse Wilner); his grandchildren Alex, Carine, Nathaniel, Jilbert, Thalise, Yanique, Stephan, Dauminique, Pascale, Raphael, and Noelle, and many nieces and nephews.

The family will great well-wishers on Friday, May 10, 2013 from 8:30AM to 10:30AM at R. Stutzmann & Son Funeral Home (224-39 Jamaica Ave. Queens Village). A funeral mass will follow at 11:00 AM at Sts. Joachim & Anne Church (218-26 105th Avenue, Queens Village) and interment at St. Charles Cemetery (Farmingdale, NY).

Following the burial, a reception to celebrate Chabrier's life will be held at: CASEGHA-USA 218-46 Hempstead Avenue Queens Village, NY 11429 718-464-0505

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Chabrier's name to: Casegha-USA P.O. Box 70 Cambria Heights, NY 11411-0070.