Cashier with ‘a very big heart’ was favorite of customers at grocery store in Bethel Park

ANTHONY JAMES BELSKI | Sept. 13, 1988 - April 28, 2015

Anthony James Belski, who went by “A.J.,” had been a welcoming face for Giant Eagle Market District customers at Village Square in Bethel Park.

A full-time cashier, the gregarious 26-year-old was “everyone’s favorite person at the store,” manager Garret Myers said. “Customers would switch lines to talk to him. And when he wasn’t working, he’d come back to hang out and say hello to everyone.”

Mr. Belski of Castle Shannon died Tuesday at Washington Hospital in Washington, Pa. His cause of death is undetermined pending autopsy.

Cindy Belski of Kennett Square, Pa., in Chester County, said her son had worked at the grocery store for the past four years. When he started at the Giant Eagle store, he came into his own, she said. “He usually related

better to people who were older than he was.”

Mr. Belski was a graduate of Canon-McMillan High School in Canonsburg, class of 2008. His mother described him as a late bloomer.

“He didn’t have a ton of friends growing up, though the other kids often wanted to take care of him,” she said. “He didn’t care if he finished last. He always went and did something and gave it his all.”

Mr. Belski wasn’t shy about what he liked, which included vacuum cleaners, cars, golf, animals and keeping things organized. “He really liked the vacuum,” Mr. Myers said.

His mother said that since he was 2 years old, he was fascinated by vacuums. At one point in his childhood, they Age had 86, 35 of of Souththem in Park, the basement, from people who would give them to him. “We had old ones from the ’30s as well as newer ones,” Ms. Belski said. "He'd take them apart and put them back together again.”

Even recently, people would call to ask him which ones to buy and how to fix them.

This fascination with the vacuum translated to a meticulously clean apartment that he moved into three years ago, when his mother moved to Kennett Square for work.

His living space wasn’t always so tidy and organized.

“When my brother and his wife went to visit him, they were floored. It was like a cleaning person had just been there,” she said.

Like the rest of us, he was often focused on what’s for dinner. For him, it was usually Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. His mother said he made it every night.

“He’d tell customers how much he was looking forward to it,” Mr. Myers said. “When he really wanted to mix it up, he’d add hot dogs. On those days, I’d say, ‘A.J., you’re getting a little wild tonight.’ ”

Mr. Belski is survived by his grandmothers, Donna Sweet of Washington and Joanne Sullivan of Avella; and a sister, Lauren Miller of Upper St. Clair.

“He taught me a lot,” said his mother. “He touched more people than I had realized. He had a very big heart.”

Visitation will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Piatt and Barnhill Funeral Home, 420 locust Ave. in Washington. The service is at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Washingto.

His family suggested donations to a charity of the donor's choice.