C. Robert Belden

C. Robert Belden, of Kirkwood, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 6, 2019. He was born in Winterset, Iowa, on December 18, 1938, a son of Carl H. and Lorraine (Mills) Belden. He grew up on a farm in Stuart, Iowa, and graduated from Stuart High School. He received his Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University, Ames, and his Master's in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. In 1965, he was employed as a Chief Planner by the Missouri State Park Board in Jefferson City where he met the love of his life, Carolyn Farmer, and they were united in marriage on June 18, 1966. They moved to St. Louis in 1967, where he began his career with Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK Planning Group). He had 38 years of service plus seven years of consulting with the firm. He was a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. In 2014, he was honored with the Robert Goetz Award for a distinguished career in landscape architecture by the St. Louis Chapter of ASLA. He was a member of the Kirkwood Park Board from June 1989 through May 1994, and was president of the board in 1992 and 1993. He was a member of Kirkwood Baptist Church for 46 years. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, traveling, gardening and genealogy research. Survivors include his wife, Carolyn Belden; brothers, Richard (Audrey), John (Dolores), James (Diane); nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews; aunt, Stephanie Mills; and brother-in-law, Paul (Donna) Farmer. He was preceded in death by his parents, Carl H. and Lorraine (Mills) Belden; uncle, John Mills, and father- and mother-in-law, Roy W. and Anna Lorene (Curtman) Farmer. Visitation will be at Bopp Chapel, 10610 Manchester Road, Kirkwood, on August 9, from 4 to 7 p.m. Services will be at Bopp Chapel on August 10, at 10 a.m. Interment will be at Hawthorn Memorial Gardens Mausoleum in Jefferson City, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Kirkwood Baptist Church, 211 North Woodlawn Avenue, Kirkwood, Missouri.