Alexander James Belshaw

Alexander (Al) Belshaw of Folsom, California, passed away at age 94, after a wonderful life full of love from both family and friends. He was known and loved for his sense of wit and affection and willingness to try new things and share adventures.

Born to Anne Rose Coehlo and Perry Manual Belshaw in 1929, his childhood was spent on their small walnut and cattle ranch in Milpitas, California with his best friend and brother, Bob (Robert Belshaw). Al wanted to be a farmer, and after high school attended UC Davis for several years to study agriculture.

Al met the love of his life, Eleanor Silva, upon returning from a Colorado deer hunting trip in 1948. He had met his eventual father-in-law on the trip and discovered they lived near each other back in the Milpitas/San Jose area. When Al went to visit Joe Pine Silva and met his wife, Delenti, he found they had a beautiful 14-year-old girl, Eleanor. Al had to wait five years before she grew up enough to be allowed to marry. Delenti told her many times, “Don’t you bother that boy; he’s here to see your father.”

Al was drafted into the US Army in 1951 and sent to Korea as a combat medic, for which he received a Bronze Star and other service awards. He was there nine months and contracted pneumonia and tuberculosis. Due to the latter, he was sent to Fort Carson Army hospital in Colorado, where he spent 14 months, as he said, “improving his pool, poker and pinochle.” Eleanor and his mother, Anne, visited. The illnesses didn’t affect his health afterwards and he remained vigorous for many decades. In 2015, Al and his daughter, Delanne, returned to South Korea on a very meaningful Military Revisit tour, where he was awarded an Ambassador of Peace Medal by the South Korean government.

Back from the Korean Conflict, Al and Eleanor got married on February 18, 1954. They had two daughters, Delanne in 1954, and Elizabeth (Liz) in 1957. They designed and built a new house on Piedmont Road in San Jose in 1960. They raised the girls in that house, and enjoyed entertaining and visiting with relatives and friends. Everyone enjoyed their simple hours spent with Al. In 2002, Al and Eleanor moved to a ranchette in Newcastle, California where they liked designing and planting their lovely yard, and Al made numerous trips to Sierra Pipe for irrigation. In 2018 at age 88, giving up his fight with the sprinkler system at the larger property, Al moved to Folsom to be nearer to his daughter, Liz.

He attended Heald Business College in 1954/55 and studied accounting. He worked briefly for United States Steel and Pacific States Steel in the late 1950’s/early 1960’s and then CSAA Insurance in 1963 until his retirement in 1992. He always took care of the walnut ranch in Milpitas and helped his father-in-law with his apricot ranch, so he did get to do some farming, which he enjoyed.

Al would say that the best years of his life were all the many years he spent RVing with Eleanor. They traveled all over the western US and Canada, exploring and often fishing. They even spent a month in New Zealand in a rented motorhome. He spent countless hours mentoring his children and grandchildren, though his wife and daughters questioned some of his more colorful lessons.

After Eleanor died (2007), Al wanted to see more of the world, so he sponsored trips with his daughters and sons-in law to the Northeast States, Italy, Portugal and the Azores, Switzerland, and up the St. Lawrence River in Canada. He immensely enjoyed all the new sights.

Al will be remembered for his fun attitude, wit and humor, as well as the limitless depth of love for his family. He loved Louis L’ Amour books, Gunsmoke (his daughters will tell you they know all the episodes) and target shooting. He would say he wasn’t a real cowboy and he just wore the big hat for shade, but in his heart, he stood for integrity and honor in the old cowboy way.

Al is predeceased by his wife, Eleanor, and survived by his brother, Robert Belshaw (Arden), his daughters Delanne Ferguson (Michael) and Elizabeth Diamond, his three grandsons, Brian Diamond, Daniel Diamond (Ashley), Thomas Diamond (Shannon), their father, Michael Diamond, and three great grandchildren.