Earnest Belt Obituary

Earnest J. "Joe" Belt Sr., of Dowagiac passed away on March 9, 2026, at Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids, Mich., following a long illness.

His memorial service will be at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 13 at Duffield & Pastrick Family Funeral Home in Coloma, with visitation beginning one hour prior to the service. Online guest book available at www.duffieldpastrick.com.

Joe was born Feb. 26, 1949, in Mountain Home, Ark., to William and Lida (Cox) Belt. After graduating from Bakersfield High School in Missouri, he served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam. After leaving the Army, he relocated to Hartford, eventually retiring from the U.S. Postal Service in Benton Harbor. Joe was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, fishing and raising beagles. He also loved spending time with his family, especially his great-grandchildren.

He is survived by brother, Amos (Marian) Belt of Bakersfield, Arthur (Glenda) Belt of Nevada, Mo.; sisters: Sharon (Jerry) Teeters of Hartford, Ann (Ronnie) Osborne of Dowagiac, Alice (Bill) Neal of Caulfield, Mo.; daughter, Bethany Hand and son-in-law, Tony Danneffel of Dowagiac; son, Earnest J. (Christina) Belt, of Woodbury, Tenn.; grandchildren: Evan (Amanda) Belt of Mineral Ridge, Ohio, Lucas Hand of Kalamazoo, Mich., Jackie (Isaiah) Cowan of Dowagiac, Eric Belt of Woodbury, Toby (Sydney) Danneffel of Dowagiac and Tyler (Alisha) Danneffel of Benton Harbor; great-grandchildren: Sophia DeMarco of Mineral Ridge, Nora Hand of Dowagiac, Avery Cowan of Dowagiac and Elizabeth Cowan of Portage.

He was preceded in death by Ramona (Tallon) Belt, his wife of 50 years; brothers: James Belt, William Bowen, Marra Bowen, Manuel Belt and Marvin Belt; sisters: Jackie (James) Sumners and Barbara (Richard) Lamb; and grandson, Trevor Danneffel.