Obituary of David A. Belden

​David A. Belden March 7, 1939—January 7, 2016 David A. Belden of Woodstock, CT died on January 7, 2016. He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Alice C. (Auclair) Belden; his three siblings: Patricia Carlson of East Greenwich, RI, Jeffrey Belden of Portsmouth, RI and Bruce Belden of Wickford, RI and their families. Additionally he is survived by his stepson, Charles H. Brown of Charlotte, NC. David was born in Walton, NY to Frederick H. Belden and Dorothy E. Belden. Moving to Wickford, RI in 1949 where he completed secondary school and then went to Brown University where he majored in History and contract bridge. Following Brown he graduated from U.S. Naval OCS with distinction and served in various Navy billets during the early 1960’s. Completing his Naval obligations he went to work for Rogers Corporation of Killingly, CT, remaining there for the next thirty five years in various sales and marketing roles until retiring in 1999. David’s passion from grammar school on was automobiles; primarily road racing and special interest cars. He belonged to many automotive clubs and was especially proud of over fifty years membership in the Sports Car Club of America where he spent many years both racing and officiating. He won some races and a regional championship or two but lost many more than he won. More recently he has been most active racing his early Lotus MK IX with the Vintage Sports Car Club of America. In all he raced for the last forty-seven years after completing driver’s school in 1967. A general interest in autos and airplanes has seen him offer lectures on both auto and aviation history at LIR at both QVCC and UCONN. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, January 23 at 10 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wickford, RI. Contributions to the International Motor Racing Research Center, 610 So. Decatur St., Watkins Glen, NY 14891-1613 would be appreciated. Share a memory at www.smithandwalkerfh.com