A healthy populace was Larry Belmont's top priority. Not pleasing politicians. Not bending to economic development. Public health.

"He was at the cutting edge of the implementation of public health at the local level," Ken Lustig, who worked for Belmont for 27 years, said Tuesday.

Belmont, the first and longtime director of the Panhandle Health District, died Friday following a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 89.

"I can honestly say, I’m 82, I would rank him among the top 10 men I've ever had the privilege of working with or serving with," said Lustig, of Boundary County. "He was a top-notch individual, intelligent, articulate, dedicated to public health.

"He was just a dynamite man, just dynamite."

Belmont led Panhandle Health from 1971 to 1997. He was known for living by and often sharing the mantra: "When public health does its job, it's invisible."

"People are like, 'Why do we need it? Your water is safe, your food is safe, your restaurants are clean. Why are we putting all that money in there?'" registered nurse Kay Kindig of Coeur d'Alene said. "That’s because it’s working."

Belmont hired Kindig in 1987 from St. Louis. She flew to North Idaho for an interview and received a job offer from Belmont the next day.

"He was very willing for me to close out of St. Louis, but he kept sending me stuff to do,” Kindig said, chuckling. "He was a great boss. He pretty much just turned me loose. I enjoyed working with him a lot."

Kindig oversaw Panhandle's home health program until she succeeded Belmont as director. The five northern counties were much more rural in those days, but Belmont believed everyone from Bonners Ferry to Avery should have access to home health services, which allow Idahoans to live in their homes longer as they age.

"'If we can keep the program going, we can do it for all five counties,' Larry would say," Kindig said.

Anyone who enjoys the clean drinking water from the Sole Source Aquifer beneath the Rathdrum Prairie can thank Belmont for his steadfast work to preserve it. Open-burning garbage dumps throughout the region were replaced with landfills. North Idaho's municipalities moved from septic to sewer systems to further protect groundwater and the environment under Belmont's leadership. He was also passionate about the Bunker Hill/Coeur d'Alene Basin Superfund Site, established in 1983 to protect residents from metal contamination caused by years of mining.

"He busted open the story of what was going on in the Silver Valley with the lead poisoning," said Belmont's son, Miller Belmont of Colorado Springs. "He was the catalyst for getting that fixed." 

"People will tell you what a great knife fighter he was when it came to pushing back on corporate greed," Miller said. "I appreciated that."

Lisa Manning of Coeur d'Alene worked under Larry Belmont and Lustig in Panhandle Health's environmental department.

"Larry Belmont was truly a major mentor for me. He always called me 'the go-getter,' but he was the go- getter," Manning said. "He was also like a surrogate dad. He took me under his wing."

The experiences she had working with Belmont on different water quality programs and protection projects have stayed with her throughout her career.

"When I needed to sort things out and find a way to get things done, I would come to Larry and we would navigate the direction we needed to go and off I went," she said. "He was always there for me. And it wasn’t just me; he was there for all of his employees. He had a tremendous amount of respect for us, as we did for him."

She said Belmont made his employees feel like they had silver bullets.

"As my greatest mentor, Larry led by example through his fierce perseverance to tackle the tough issues and never back down from doing the right thing," Manning said. "Larry had a unique way of making you feel like a better person. Through his keen insight and Socratic approach, he inspired a person to be inquisitive and brave without boundaries."

Beyond the health district, Larry Belmont also helped start Hospice of North Idaho, which he launched with a $30,000 grant.

Executive Director Shawna Cauley said Hospice of North Idaho exists today because of visionaries like Belmont.

"From our earliest beginnings as a small advisory group to the fully accredited nonprofit we are now, Larry helped pave the way with leadership rooted in compassion, collaboration and an unwavering belief that our community deserved dignified, comfort-focused end-of-life care," Cauley said. "His involvement shaped not only our foundation, but our values, reminding us that hospice has always been about people coming together to serve one another. Larry’s legacy lives in the heart of Hospice of North Idaho.”

    Larry Belmont, center, was the first director of Panhandle Health District. He died Friday after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 89. He is recently pictured here with his children. From left are Miller, Beckey, Larry, Amie and Brad.
  

Larry Belmont is seen with his wife of 55 years, Laureen Belmont, in this past photo. Larry, the first and longtime director of Panhandle Health District, died Friday. He was preceded in death by Laureen in 2021.