Sanford T. Beldon
Sanford T. Beldon passed away on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, surrounded by his entire immediate family.
The first son of Benjamin and Evelyn (Jacobson)
Belchinsky, he was born on November 9, 1932, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and lived in a neighborhood filled with aunts, uncles and grandparents in whose homes he spent time equal to that in his own home.
His family moved to Brooklyn when he was ten; there, as a consequence of multiple wartime moves, he
entered his fourth fourth grade and became a loyal
New York (baseball) Giants fan. He rode the subways and elevated trains to visit museums and libraries
throughout the city and developed a respect for the role of such public institutions in the lives of middle and lower-income children. He had summer jobs hawking ice cream on the beaches of Coney Island, doing various service jobs in Catskills hotels, and as an elevator operator in a New York apartment building; all of these experiences offered him insight that informed his view of the world and the values that would guide him through it.
He graduated from Erasmus High School and from
CCNY (City College of New York), which he proudly referred to as ‘the poor man’s Harvard’. He entered the world of advertising through the proverbial mailroom and quickly moved on to copy writing, then to the field of book publishing, primarily as a publicist promoting the books, including those of authors such as Norman Vincent Peale and Mrs. Babe Ruth. It was during these years that he met and married Jeanne Sherman. Interested in the environment, he was fascinated by a New York Times’ Magazine article featuring J. I. Rodale, founder of Rodale Publishing and a passionate advocate of organic farming. In 1972, he, Jeanne and two children moved to Allentown, where Sandy joined Rodale and helped launch its Book Division. In his 26 years with the company, he served as advertising director of Organic Gardening, publisher of several magazines, including New Shelter and Prevention, and as a corporate officer. The constant variety of new challenges at Rodale was ideal for him, as was the company’s support of his interest in environmental
and civic affairs. He was responsible for the launch of newspaper re-cycling in Allentown; was a founding member of what is now the Wildlands Conservancy; served as president of Lehigh Valley Child Care, on the boards of Planned Parenthood, Second Harvest Food
Bank and the Allentown Art Museum.
Sandy was a man of quiet, but deserved pride; of his
family, of his heritage and of the influence he had in his professional and civic life. He was most proud of the roof garden project he developed, long before the idea of a roof garden existed, at a homeless center near his
Manhattan office; the produce was used in the center’s kitchen, and excess was sold from a cart, located in Bryant Park and manned by the center’s clients. He helped replicate the program at homeless communities
in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Here in Allentown, he promoted the concept of a juvenile probation garden where teen offenders spent time growing produce for Second Harvest; this endeavor was successfully
instituted in 15 Pennsylvania counties. His role in the establishment of the Allentown Arts Park also was something of particular importance to him. With fellow art museum trustee, Bernie Berman, he worked with
state and local government officials and with private citizens to stall plans for a county parking lot opposite the Allentown Art Museum, creating instead a beautiful
park serving the downtown business and residential communities while providing a calm public space linking three of Allentown’s leading cultural institutions. Sandy was a decades-long Giants football and baseball fan, New York and San Francisco, respectively, eventually forgiving both of his favorite teams for leaving New York City and relocating west of the Hudson River. He was a firm believer that government had the right and the responsibility to help people survive and succeed in spite the difficulties they faced. He believed that the prosperity he achieved was made possible because his society invested in him in many ways. Through his many civic commitments, he invested his time and money in the lives and wellbeing of others. Above all
else, he adored his family. Calls to his adult children were frequent and always welcome. First with Jeanne
and then with Pat, the table in his home was always being gathered around, for holidays and celebrations.
Meals went on for hours. Stories were shared, songs were sung. He sat at head of the table, sauvignon blanc in hand, happy to have his loving, if sometimes loud, family gathered around him.
Sandy was predeceased by his parents and his wife Jeanne and survived by his wife, Patricia Wood Beldon. Proud and grateful to be his family are his daughter, Marylee Beldon Roylance, with husband, Jon, and son, Benjamin; his son, Kenneth S. Beldon, with wife, Teresa Nazario; his daughter, Emily Beldon Burke, with
husband, David, and daughters, Margot Jeanne and Lila Evelyn. Also surviving is his brother Jack Belchinsky of Longmont, Colorado.
Services will be private. Arrangements by Bachman, Kulik & Reinsmith Funeral Homes, Allentown.
Those who care to celebrate his life and honor his memory with a donation are invited to consider two institutions he cherished: The Allentown Art Museum and the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and N.E. Pennsylvania.