David Belch Obituary

David Walter Belch of Clarkston passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and dear friends on January 12, 2025 at the age of 84. Son of Walter and Stella Belch and brother to Patricia and Jimmy, all who preceded him in death. Beloved husband of Sharron for 60 years, loving father of David Belch and Nancy (Keith) Cox, grandfather of Kayla (Priscilla) Grace and brother to John Belch.

Dave was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 6, 1940.  He loved cars which were not only a hobby, but eventually became his career as a long time designer at General Motors. Dave enjoyed attending auto shows and watching classic cars at the Woodward Dream Cruise.  He also had a fascination with model trains as a child.  One particular Lionel set was a family favorite, and could be found circling the family Christmas tree for many years.

Avid foodie, fisherman, lover of jazz and rock, non-traveler, researcher extraordinaire, fixer of all things squeaky or broken and a family caretaker. His family and close friends knew him for his exhausting particularness of food quality and preparation.  In his early years you could find him delighting over a meal of sardines and white bread topped with cold butter and hot peppers, pickled pigs feet or savoring a bowl of Czarnina (duck blood soup) at the Polish Village Cafe.

Culture was important to Dave. When David Jr. and Nancy were still living at home he introduced them to the Detroit Jazz Festival, Belle Isle, and Boblo Island.  He didn’t care to travel much, but would take his family to Port Huron to eat KFC while watching the freighters pass underneath the Blue Water Bridge.  Las Vegas was his favorite place to visit, and even took his family there for their 50th wedding anniversary.  He was a golf hobbyist but had zero other interest in sports.

Dave was a fixer of all things; the original MacGyver at problem solving.  He made sure his kids and granddaughter knew the basics of tools and how to use them safely and properly. When they had their own cars they went through the Belch automotive boot camp.  You could often find him and his beloved young friend Konrad tinkering in the garage working on the tractor and grabbing lunch at White Castle.

His absolutely greatest love and accomplishment is his family.  When asked if there is anything he wanted to accomplish yet in life, his response was a resounding “no”.  His main goal in life was to make sure that his amazing wife was taken care of.  Dave attended every softball game, piano recital, choir and band concert for David and Nancy.   He insisted on driving to Grand Rapids to see his granddaughter, Kayla for every birthday, piano and dance recital and her high school graduation. His dream was that she graduated college and he assisted her in this journey.

Milestones and accomplishments: married for 60 years, graduated from Lawrence Tech, drafted to the Army, lived in Southfield when Nancy was born, built his own home in Clarkston where David was born, retired from General Motors after 41 years, and heroically fought Wegener's disease for 20 years. They gave him two years to live but he survived 20. He was truly a strong and resilient man.

Visitation will be Friday, January 17th from 4:00-8:00 pm at the Lewis E. Wint & Son Funeral Home in Clarkston MI. Funeral Service will be Saturday, January 18th at 10:00 am at Wint & Son Funeral Home. Military burial honors will be on  Tuesday, January 21 at 1:00 pm at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, MI. 

Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or the National Kidney Foundation.

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