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He was the husband of Jane Wilson Belote, his law partner.
He was born July 15, 1947, in West New York, N.J., a son of Madelyn Scala Belote and James Belote. He moved to Ridgefield in 1949 to be closer to his mother’s family.
He attended Ridgefield schools, graduating in 1965 from Ridgefield High School, where he was Student Council president, vice president of his senior class and voted most likely to succeed. Earning several scholarships, he attended Clark University in Worcester, Mass., graduating in 1969.
Belote was appointed an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he served as chief of the Immigration and Consular Law Unit. He simultaneously was appointed a special assistant to the U.S. attorney general, working on counter-terrorism and prosecution of Nazi war criminals in the United States.
In 1983, he decided to leave government service and open a private practice, specializing in immigration and consular law, in New York, Ridgefield and Danbury. His partner, Jane, soon became his wife — the two were married Feb. 17, 1986, in Zermott, Switzerland.
Besides his wife, he is survived by daughters Eden Compton Clay and her husband, Richard, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Erin Futterman Lindsay and her husband, Tom, also of Saratoga Springs; and Adam Futterman of Key West, Fla.; two grandsons, Storm and Coltrane Lindsay; a brother and sister-in-law, James and Janet Belote of Ridgefield, and their children, Lauren Lo’Albo and her husband, Rob, and their son, Timmy; Jennifer Hibbard and her husband, John, and their daughter Elizabeth; and many cousins.
Calling hours are from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Kane Funeral Home, 25 Catoonah St. A celebration of his life will be scheduled at a later date.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Ridgefield Old Timers Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 436, Ridgefield, CT 06877; the Land Conservancy of Ridgefield, P.O. Box 32, Ridgefield, CT 06877; or the Ridgefield Community Center, 316 Main St., Ridgefield, CT 06877.
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