POTSDAM - They say everyone at some point in time gets “15 minutes of fame.”

For some, that may come early in life. For others, it may come later in life, but for Marylou Cunningham Belles’15 minutes of fame came too late.

An obituary for Mrs. Belles, a Malone native and Potsdam Central School graduate living in Bethel, Conn. at the time of her death, appeared in Wednesday’s edition of The Daily Courier Observer.

The obituary, which contained a colorful description of her fight with cancer, was written by Mrs. Belles’ daughter, Melinda Belles-Preston.

While Ms. Preston said her mother didn’t know the contents of the obituary, she said she believes her mom is looking down on her family with a smile.

“I think she would be amused,” Ms. Preston said, referring to the attention her obituary is receiving.

That attention includes being named media blogger Jim Romenesko’s obit of the week and appearances on several sports-themed websites including NBCSports.com, comcastsportsnet.com, larrybrownsports.com and metsreport.com. The obituary was also discussed on “Intentional Talk,” a sports talk show on the MLB (Major League Baseball) Network.

One of the more memorable lines in the obituary was, “She was a lifelong Mets fan though, surprisingly that’s not what killed her.”

“She really did love the Mets,” Ms. Preston said. “She was watching baseball right up until her last days.”

As Mrs. Belles’ health began to decline, her daughter said New York Mets baseball provided her an escape and relief from everything else going on around her.

Ms. Preston said her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 27 years ago.

Twenty-seven years ago when you got cancer, you died,” she said. “She loved horror novels, Styx and other bands like that, basically she was sticking it to death for 27 years.”

Ms. Preston also pointed out that given her mother was a big fan of Stephen King. Her death falling on Friday the 13th was a fitting tribute, her daughter suggested.

When asked Monday morning if she was aware of all the attention her mother’s obituary had received, Ms. Preston, who said she had heard that it was posted on NBCSports.com, said she was unaware of the television mentions and appearances in other blogs.

“I had no idea,” she said.

A Google search of “Marylou Belles” & “Obituary” brings up more than 2,000 items appearing under headlines like “Mets fan Dies, but not from watching Mets,” Mets fan dies, cause of death not believed to be Mets fandom” and “Fans get the last word against underachieving team.”

When Ms. Preston sat down to write her mom’s obituary, she said she was looking to do something a little different.

“I hate those obits that say was ‘struggling with illness,’” she said. “She made it clear to us that she didn’t want us sitting around and being sad.”

Her family aren’t the only ones who have taken comfort in the humorous paragraph-long tribute.

Chris Yuscavage, a blogger for Complexsports.com wrote, “Best obituary ever? Well, that’s definitely up for debate. But, it’s ...good. And, as a Mets fan, it gives me a lot of hope. This team may hurt me…but it won’t kill me. Great to know!”

On the web:

http://www.mpcourier.com/article/20120725/DCO03/707259957/-1/dco03?wd_site=dco

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