James "Jim" Walter Belmont

James W. Belmont

“I want to be remembered as making a difference—in the lives of my family,
in the lives of my friends, and in the lives of those I work and play with.
I want each of them to remember a smile, a kind word, and maybe even some wisdom.
And I want to be remembered for caring and loving.”
— James W. Belmont, in his own words

To know James Walter Belmont (known to those who loved him as Jim, Dad, Poppie, Jimothy, JB, and Jimmie) was to know a man who loved to tell a story. It is with profound sadness, and one of the hardest stories we've ever had to share, that we announce Jim’s passing on February 18, 2026.

The night before he passed, he went to bed the way he lived: with intention and with love. He gave Cathy, his love, 13 kisses. One for her and one for each of his children and grandchildren: Becky and her husband Bill and their daughter Haley; Matt and his wife Sara; Tim and his wife Laura and their children Nick and Mia; and Sarah (with a baby boy on the way) and her husband Carson and their daughter Elizabeth.

That was Dad, Poppie, Jim. He never let a feeling go unexpressed or a moment pass without marking it. He lived his life out loud and in full. Through his words, his exclamation points, his emojis, and his embrace. We knew when he was happy. We knew when he was a little grumpy. And we never, not for a single day, had to wonder how he felt about us.

Jimmie was born at home in Omaha, Nebraska, the tenth child in the household of Helen Valmont Belmont. His first bed was the top drawer of his mother’s dresser. He was devoted to Helen - a small woman with a huge spirit. He remembered her sitting in her rocking chair, reading her Bible with a cup of tea beside her, calling a taxi when no one could drive so that Jimmie and his brother Jerry would never miss Sunday school. His six brothers taught him to box, play sports, and drive a car. His three sisters taught him to be respectful, to read broadly, and to be a gentleman. Together, they gave him a foundation for the rest of his life.

Jim believed family was something you built, not just something you were born into. The home at 1018 in Omaha where he and his first wife Ruth raised Becky and “the twins,” Matt and Tim, had a reliable rhythm. Saturday nights meant Valentino’s pizza. Warm weather meant rounds of catch and watching Dad on the ladder, painting, caulking, and inspecting the home's exterior. And Dad understood that the best homes have room to expand. Jason from across the street became a third son, and Leise, the Danish exchange student who arrived for a school year, became a forever daughter.

Later in life, Jim found in Cathy a partner whose love deepened and completed him. When he married Cathy in 2008, he gained not only a wife and best friend, but also a daughter in Sarah(thy) and a new family in the Coxes, who welcomed him with open arms as though he had always been one of their own. Weekly trips to the Cox family farm to visit Cathy's mother became a cherished part of life, and in Cathy's siblings he found not only brothers and sisters, but the dearest of friends.

Whatever the day held, Jim sent his children, and later his grandchildren, off each morning with the same words, a phrase that grew over the years into something he considered his greatest advice:

Do your best. Have fun. Smile. Let people know you like them. And remember I love you. And remember God loves you, too.

He believed those words could carry a person through almost anything. He said thank you, Lord, every day.

Jim was a man things happened to, or perhaps a man who paid close enough attention that extraordinary moments revealed themselves. On a 1996 flight to Miami, he found himself seated beside Joe DiMaggio. Despite promising the legend he would leave him in peace, they talked for three hours. At Wimbledon, an owner placed his all-access day pass into Jimmie's hand as a parting gift. When a press release arrived announcing a new corporate name "Enteron,"Jim opened a dictionary, found the anatomical definition, and walked calmly into his boss's office. "We will be known as the assholes of the industry," he said. Enron it became.

He helped invent the gift card. He met Tom Hanks at O’Hare, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in London, and the Beach Boys backstage in Kauai. He helped a commanding general avoid a Cold War incident by simply giving a lost Russian vehicle directions.

He traveled more than six million airline miles and drove Interstate 80 to see his family more times than he could count. And he still believed, every time, that the best trip was the next one.

Though eternity is likely not long enough for him to tell God all of his stories and to ask all of his questions, we have no doubt he's already begun.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to Resurrection Community Church in loving memory of Jim.

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