Obituary of Stanley Keith Belmont, 69
Stanley Keith Belmont.
– Stanley Keith Belmont passed away on Christmas Day 2023 at his home in Paso Robles, California after a six-month struggle with cancer. Kathleen, his wife of 49 years, and their sons and families, accompanied him with loving attention and care throughout the illness and were at his bedside when he died.
Keith, second of three children of Jane Reinke Belmont and Lt. Colonel Robert Belmont, was born on Sept. 19,1954 in Fort Eustis, Virginia. The son of an Army officer, Keith moved often as a child: Kindergarten in Augsburg, Germany; first grade in Buena Park, California when nearby Knott’s Berry Farm was just that—a berry farm; second grade in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Keith spent his third and fourth grade years in Paso Robles while his father was on assignment in South Korea. Midst all the moves, Keith considered Paso Robles home base, in part because his mother’s family, the Reinke’s, had settled there in 1930. The property is still in the family. When his father returned home from Korea, the family was transferred to Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona where Keith attended fifth and sixth grades.
After his dad’s retirement, the family moved to Cayucos, California. Keith attended seventh grade there—his sixth school in seven years. The following year the Belmonts returned to Paso Robles where he completed junior high and high school, graduating in 1972. Keith went to work at an auto parts store and at an office party met a likeable and attractive young woman named Kathleen. They connected as he taught her to play pool and Kathleen was impressed by this “sweet guy” with gentlemanly good manners. Keith describes Kathleen as: “The best thing that ever happened to me.”
After nine months of dating, Keith and Kathleen were married on Aug. 24,1974 at the St. James Episcopal Church in Paso Robles. In September, Keith began two years of study at Cuesta College, later transferring to Cal Poly and graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1980. In 2010, Keith would also complete an MBA degree at the University of Dallas.
After graduation from Cal Poly, Keith began a twenty-year career with Mobil Oil—a profession that he defined as “nothing short of fantastic.” During the first fifteen years at Mobil, he managed oil and gas operations in Kansas, Colorado, and California.
In the last five years of employment with Mobil, the family was based in Dallas, Texas while Keith worked internationally. He traveled to Vietnam frequently to manage economic analysis on an exploration project with Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese partners. He also worked in Azerbaijan as part of a negotiating team that succeeded in obtaining an offshore exploration license in the Caspian Sea.
Keith retired from Mobil in 2000 after a successful career. He then joined two partners to pursue a new profession as a real estate developer. The three men teamed up to complete some fifteen development projects in the Paso Robles area. He retired from the real estate career in 2006 but continued to work as an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas and the University of La Verne in California. He then served as a managing consultant for British Petroleum on the Thunder Horse oil platform (one of the world’s biggest moored, steel-production semi-submersible platforms ever built) and the Nakika offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
Keith moved into retirement for a third time to focus on family life with Kathleen, their sons, daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren: Sammy, Robby, and August. Keith welcomed his role as Grampy, offering playful affection and positive guidance to each unique child. Four-wheeler rides, gatherings on the hilltop property, camping trips and back yard barbecues will be woven into their conscious and unconscious memories of him. Spending time in the gathered family circle was cherished and valued by Keith. Playing and working together and completing projects that made life better was one of his primary sources of fulfillment.
Keith’s passion for bringing positive change extended to church and community. A valuable member of numerous boards, his keen engineering mind saw creative solutions and effective structural changes. Everywhere the family lived, Keith served on church boards and committees in Kansas, Texas, and Colorado. After settling in Paso, Keith continued to provide leadership at the family’s church, the local food bank, the Paso Robles Cemetery Board, and City Oversight Committee.
A life well lived as faithful steward of his gifts, a disciplined investor of time, capacities and resources, a wise mentor to friends and family of all ages, keeper of the land and harvester of its bounty in the form of wine, olive oil and roses, lover of substantive conversation and friendly banter, generous partner to Kathleen in sharing hospitality and care to a wide circle of friends and family: these qualities defined Keith and his life. He believed in taking time to do things well—to dress well, work well, act well and with integrity. A man of deep faith, he believed in and encouraged service as an expression of Christianity’s core teachings. In the end, Keith acknowledged that the more he gave, the more he found his life blessed and enriched. He lived life to the fullest and leaves behind a legacy of service and caring generosity.
Keith was preceded in death by his father and mother and is survived by:
His wife, Kathleen; son, Paul and wife Carissa; son, Matthew and wife Emily; grandchildren, Sammy, Robby, and August; brother, Mark (and wife, Terri); sister, Jane (and partner, Michelle).
A Celebration of Life is being planned for February 24th, 2024 at 2:00 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, 940 Creston Rd, Paso Robles.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to one of the following in honor of Keith:
The Pioneer Museum: https://pasoroblespioneermuseum.org/
Paso Robles Children’s Museum: https://www.pasokids.org/
Estrella Warbird Museum: https://www.ewarbirds.org/index.html
For additional information, contact Eddington Funeral Services, 429 Bassett St., King City, (831) 385-5400, www.EFSCares.com.
Celebration of Life
Saturday, February 24, 2024
2:00 PM
Trinity Lutheran Church
940 Creston Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446
-From Eddington Funeral Services.
The Paso Robles Daily News accepts and publishes local obituaries and death notices free of charge from individuals and local funeral homes. See information and tips here on writing an obituary. Please submit the obituary a few days before services, if possible. To submit an obituary, please email it to skye@accesspublishing.com with “obituary” in the subject line. Please email a photo along with the obituary.
Comments
