Hours earlier, one of the most decorated rowers in the history of Boathouse Row and the United States passed peacefully with family in Lititz, PA. William Thomas Belden Jr. Bill was a two-time World Champion rower in the lightweight single sculls, winning gold in Lucerne, Switzerland in , and Bled, Slovenia in Between and Bill was on 13 US national teams bringing home a total of seven medals 2 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze for the United States in the lightweight single and double sculls.
He also competed in the heavyweight double. He and frequent adversary Dr. Larry Klecatsky teamed up in as heavyweights to represent the United States in the double sculls at the Montreal Olympics, placing 8th. As the oldest of eight siblings, he was often responsible for watching over his four brothers and three sisters at their childhood home in King of Prussia and in Western Massachusetts where he spent summers fishing with his grandfather and younger brothers.
A less than stellar student, Bill attended Bishop Kendrick High School, where on a spring day in , he was given the option to sit in detention or attend a meeting of the newly formed crew team. He chose the latter, setting off an improbable rowing career that enabled him to compete around the world. In high school, Bill met his soulmate Cathy Ruddell who he would continue to court while they attended different colleges. The long-distance relationship worked, and they married in June immediately after graduation.
After college, Bill started a career in banking at Provident National Bank, where he was able to work and simultaneously train on Boathouse Row. Bill and Cathy had two boys who Bill instilled a love of rowing and the water. Both would row for Bill at Upper Merion and continue their rowing endeavors in college. Bill also coached Little League Baseball and Soccer as the boys grew up in King of Prussia, and he never missed a track or cross-country meet the boys raced in.
Weekends not focused on sports were dedicated to fishing: on the upper Schuylkill, the trout streams of central PA or the islands of Lake Michigan. Cathy took amazing care of Bill in their later years as he slowly declined from dementia.
