HAMILTON, Ohio — Dave Belew believed “it was important” to give back to his community, he told the Journal-News, a WCPO 9 content partner, in an April interview.
“Life has been good to me, and I wanted to be good to my community,” he said ahead of this past spring’s honorary naming of a portion of the Great Miami River Trail in Hamilton.
Belew, known as “Mr. Hamilton” by many, died on Saturday. He was 93.
“Dave Belew was an icon in our community,” said Hamilton Community Foundation President and CEO John Guidugli. “Not only was he a successful business leader and outstanding community leader, but he was a compassionate, caring individual who gave back to his community over and over again.”
Belew was born in Falmouth, Kentucky.
He attended Taylor Elementary, Roosevelt Junior High School and Hamilton High School, and it was in high school where he would meet Margery, the love of his life, though they didn’t start dating until their college years. Belew was a philosophy major at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Va., and Margery majored in music at the Colorado Women’s College in Denver.
Belew represented many organizations. His longest tenure was with the Hamilton Community Foundation; he served on its board for 38 years, including as its chairman. Guidugli said the foundation and the community are better for his involvement.
“Dave was a consummate communicator and throughout his life he connected with individuals on a personal level to share his unbridled optimism and commitment to the success of our community,” he said. “Dave was a friend and mentor. Much of what I know about Hamilton, about volunteering and about giving back I learned from Dave Belew. Hamilton has lost one of its greatest citizens, and while his loss is profound, the legacy of his life will shine on for years to come.”
Belew served on the Hamilton Community Foundation board of trustees from 1961 to 1994 and 1995 to 2003, and was chairman in 2001, during the organization’s 50th anniversary year. The trail expansion was one of six gifts the foundation wanted to give to the community.
Mayor Pat Moeller said “all hearts are heavy in Hamilton” with Belew’s passing, which comes soon after the deaths of two other former Hamilton leaders, Lynn Kinkaid and Bill Wilks.
“Anybody who came into contact with Dave knew what kind of man he was. He was a go-to man for advice and wisdom; a go-to guy also to talk about the future vision for the city as well as current things going on in this city,” said Moeller of Belew, a former president of Beckett Paper and a longtime Hamilton Planning Commission member. “There’s something so high-class about him. ... He was a doer in doing what was best for Hamilton.”
In May, the city of Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Foundation celebrated Belew, who was an avid bike rider, with the naming of a nearly 10-mile stretch of the Great Miami Trail, from Joyce Park to Rentschler Forest MetroPark. In late April, Belew told the Journal-News he was proud to see all the growth happening in his adopted hometown, saying, “A lot of good things are happening.”
Because Belew was known for his substantial contributions to the city, the highest Hamilton Community Foundation award is named for his honor. It was first awarded in 2010, and Belew told the Journal-News he was “honored when they named a fund after me. It’s such a great organization, that made so many great things happen because it has the fund and the support of so many great people.”
He said this past spring that he was blessed to be in Hamilton since 1942, telling the Journal-News, “I’ve had a wonderful life here in Hamilton.”
Arrangements are being handled by Weigel Funeral Home, but details have not yet been set.
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