By Susan Stevenot Sullivan, Staff Writer

ATLANTA--Father Joseph Beltran who in about two weeks would have celebrated his fortieth anniversary as a priest, died Sunday, April 30, at DeKalb Medical Center where he had undergone extended treatment for malaria. He was 65.

His brother, Archbishop Eusebius Beltran of Oklahoma City, was scheduled to be the principal celebrant at the funeral liturgy held Wednesday morning, May 3, at St. Oliver Plunkett Church in Snellville.

Born Oct. 16, 1929, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Father Beltran studied at St. Mary’s Seminary in Orchard Lake, Mich., completing his B.A. at St. Mary’s in Baltimore, Md. He then went on to receive an S.T.B. from St. Mary’s in Roland Park, also in Baltimore.

On May 19, 1955, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta by Bishop Francis E. Hyland at Christ the King Co-Cathedral.

His first assignment was at Immaculate Conception Church. He also served as an assistant at St. Thomas More, Decatur; St. John, Hapeville; St. Mary’s, Rome; St. Anthony, Atlanta; Christ the King, Atlanta and Sts. Peter and Paul, Decatur.

Father Beltran’s first pastorate was at St. Peter’s in LaGrange in 1964 and subsequently pastorates included St. Mary’s, Rome, in 1966; St. Philip Benizi, Jonesboro, in 1969; Corpus Christi, Stone Mountain, in 1971; All Saints Church, Dunwoody, in 1977 and St. Oliver Plunkett, Snellville, in 1985.

In 1991 Father Beltran was named parochial vicar of Holy Spirit Church, Atlanta. A year later he was named administrator of St. Gabriel Mission, Fayetteville. He was also active as a judge for the Metropolitan Tribunal and as moderator of the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women before his retirement in April 19993 due to health problems.

Father Beltran underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 1983. He suffered a debilitating stroke in February 1993 which led to his retirement months later.

In early March 1995, Father Beltran accompanied his sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cebulski of Conyers, with whom he lived, to the Ivory Coast in West Africa. The trip was to see Sister Sponsa Beltran, sister of Father Beltran and Mrs. Cebulski.

According to Father Beltran’s brother Frank, of Atlanta, both Father Beltran and his brother-in-law were bitten by mosquitoes carrying a virulent type of malaria called falciparum. Within several days of their return to Georgia both were hospitalized. Cebulski was transferred to DeKalb Medical Center on March 20; Father Beltran was admitted on March 21. Cebulski remains hospitalized in serious condition.

Father Beltran was preceded in death by a sister, Mrs. Carey Florence. In addition to his brothers Frank and Archbishop Eusebius and sisters Mrs. Henry Cebulski and Sister Sponsa, Father Beltran is survived by sisters Miss Helen Marie Beltran, Panama City, Fla., and Mrs. Gerald Carrier, Philadelphia, Pa.

Concelebrating at the funeral Mass were expected to include Archbishop John F. Donoghue of Atlanta, Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa and Father Richard Morrow of Cumming. Burial was to follow in Arlington Cemetery, Sandy Springs.