Obituary of John Hunting Belding, Jr

Belchertown, MA - John Hunting Belding, Jr, 74, passed away December 22, 2023. Born June 10, 1949 in Delhi, New York, John was the son of John H. and Eva R. (née Westerlund) Belding. John grew up in Hyde Park, NY and lived in Belchertown for the last 9 years. He lived in Grafton, MA for over 30 years prior to that. John graduated from Stony Brook University and received his MA in Anthropology from UMass Amherst. He was the Director of Planning at the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging and taught Anthropology and Sociology at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, MA. In recent years, he volunteered locally by leading a walking group at the Belchertown Senior Center and was active with the Belchertown Historical Commission and the Friends of the Clapp Memorial Library. John's love for travel brought him to Ireland, France, Germany, Portugal, Japan, Argentina, and Uruguay amongst many other destinations at home and abroad. Visiting family in England as well as having worked on an Archaeological Excavation in Aguntum, Austria and conducted field work in Niger, West Africa brought enjoyment to John's life. If he was not traveling the world, you could find him attending and photographing his grandchildren's sporting events. He loved photography, wine, fine dining, art, and music and was a massive fan of Arsenal FC and Taylor Guitars of which he owned several. His rooted love for family was evident in everything that he did. On September 15, 2020, he was predeceased by his dear wife of 45 years, Meredith Anne Weiss. John's love and memory will remain with his two children, Ethan Weiss Belding, and Sarah Abigail Wojnas and her husband Joseph, as well as three grandchildren: Lucas, Curtis, and Juliette Wojnas. John also leaves his siblings and their spouses, Wayne Belding and Miriam Sproul of Boulder, CO, Barbara and Carmine Rinaldi of NY, Janice and Bert Beatty of Las Vegas, NV, and Douglas and Deborah Belding of Hyde Park, NY. A graveside service will be held privately. Beers & Story Belchertown Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in John's memory to the QCC Foundation, 670 West Boylston St., Worcester, MA 01606 or online at www.qcc.edu/giving and make the notation of Weiss-Belding Scholarship in Social Sciences.