The following memorial was posted online with the April 22, 2015, issue.
Jon, or “ Belch,” as some classmates knew him, made a lot of friends quickly at Princeton and he kept them through the years. He was outgoing and friendly, a good listener, and very sympathetic ‑ almost sympathetic to a fault. He was so full of energy and always willing to take a chance on a new adventure.
During freshman year, he was on the fencing team and lightweight crew and, later on, he rowed on the heavyweight crew. His sense of adventure put him in the Tabard Inn Ski Club, where he spent several years skiing and romancing day and night. In the ski club, he also led everyone in song; the self-designated choirmaster, he wrote the only Tabard Inn song that is still sung today.
Belch was a member of Cap and Gown and majored in biology, but did not like to get bogged down in specifics when it came to studying. He was energetic and unique in the way that he would suddenly go off on a different tangent. He had so much talent and many interests.
After Princeton, Jon went to Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and became an obstetrician and gynecologist, practicing in California after service in the Navy. He married Theta and they had their first child, Phoebe. Later he married Elena and they had Aaron, Debra, and Barry. A granddaughter, Hannah, also survives him.
Belch was a member of the faculty of the San Jose Medical Center Family Practice Residency Program and also taught in the Stanford program. For many years he was a clinical consultant at Women's Community Clinic of San Jose and at the Tri-City Clinic in Fremont. The New York Times obituary concluded with the words "Dr. Belcher is remembered by his medical colleagues as an exceptional teacher of medicine and by his friends and family for his exceptional passion and generosity."
Belch came from the Connecticut family of the Benjamin Moore Paint Company and was one of six siblings. A brother, Benjamin '57, predeceased him.
In the spring of 1999, his friends were shocked to learn that Belch had been suddenly diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. He started treatment immediately, and within a few weeks, he died June 24, 1999. This was a great loss to his medical community, his family, and his friends.