Memorials › L. J. Belt

L. J. Belt

23 Apr 1915 – 16 Jul 2008

Birth23 Apr 1915
Death16 Jul 2008
CemeteryDelta Cemetery
Delta , Delta County , Colorado , USA
Added byLady in Red on 03 Feb 2009
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28517527

Bio

L. J. Belt April 23, 1915 - July 16, 2008 On April 23, 1915, L.J. Belt was born to Albert William Belt and Alva Lee Dandridge in Hubbard, Texas. He was born early and was so tiny he slept in a shoe box on the oven door under the watchful care of his loving grandmother. Though his body was weak and tiny, his spirit was the size of a giant and continued to valiantly cling to this life until he peacefully passed away on July 16, 2008 at the age of 93. L.J. had a zest for life and in his youth played every sport there was. As a young man he was adventurous and loved deep sea fishing, golfing and even learned how to fly an airplane, much to his mom's dismay. As the oldest of five brothers, he was always the leader, and helped keep his younger brothers in line. When work was done, he would often be found in one of the grain silos reading a book. His mother said he always had a book in his back pocket. Into adulthood, he was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan. Just before the World War II broke out, he was working on a cattle ranch in the Philippines. They were able to escape the country just days before the Japanese invasion and when he made it home, he immediately joined the Navy. He would soon find himself on the USS Hornet during the battle of Midway. He was aboard the carrier when Dolittle landed his planes before their invasion of China. He was also aboard the ship when it was later bombed and sunk by the Japanese. After the war it was time for him to settle down. He went back to Texas and found a young woman who he thought had the most beautiful hands he had ever seen. She thought he was a cocky, red head, but on June 28, 1946, he married Henrietta Gloria Fortune. They moved to Watsonville, California where they started their little family. They had a first son (Leonard James) who died at childbirth. No long after Lynn Jay was born and when they found out they were going to have another baby, L.J. received orders to report to San Diego and prepare to be on another ship during the Korean Conflict. He packed up his little family and moved them to Grand Junction so they could live with Henrietta's parents until he came home. While passing through he fell in love with a little town called Delta and vowed to return there to raise his family. Our family moved to Delta in 1952 and L.J. went to work as a body and fender man for Baker Ford (later to become Hellman Ford). He then established his own body shop, Delta Body Works and later managed the body shop for Tom Riley Wrecking and Auto Salvage. He retired from the auto body business and became a meat cutter for Peterson Grocery. He worked as a maintenance man at Bethesda Care Center. After retiring, he was the maintenance/cleaning/all purpose man at the local Elks Lodge, where he was a member for 55 years and for many of those years held the office of Tiler. He will probably best be remembered for manning the front door of the Elks for dinners and every special event the Elks hosted and also for his love of "pull tabs". Life was not always easy but L.J. was a very pragmatic man and leaves behind a legacy of enormous courage. He believed in honesty, hard work, God's will and unconditional love for his family. He was one of the world's good men. He was preceded in death by his wife, Henrietta, in May of 2003, after almost 56 years of marriage, along with his parent, four brothers, many cousins, one granddaughter, Shawna Belt of Delta and one great granddaughter, Kaitlynn Marvel of Orem, Utah. He is survived by his children, Jay (Barbara) Belt of Delta and Brenda (Belt) Marvel of Provo, Utah. He has six grandchildren, Michelle (Steve) Armstrong of Delaware; Trina Brillhart of Grand Junction; Tricia (J.R.) Keller of Delta; Raylynn Marvel of Orem, Utah; Aaron (Mandy) Marvel of Orem, Utah; and Lee (Keelie) of Orem, Utah. There are six great grandchildren, Brandon, Ethan and Koby Keller of Delta; Madelynn Brillhart of Grand Junction and Mikayla and Marisa Marvel of Orem, Utah. Graveside services will be conducted on July 22, at 10:00 a.m. at the Delta City Cemetery. Past Exalted Rulers of the Delta Elk's Lodge # 1235 will officiate. In lieu of flowers the family asks donations be made to Hospice of Palliative Care of Delta, P.O. Box 24, Delta, CO 81416 or the Delta Elks Lodge #1235, Elevator Fund, 563 Main St., Delta, CO 81416 in the name of L.J. Belt. Published in The Daily Sentinel on 7/20/2008

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