Sandra Belden

Mickey Sandra Duane Riley Belden, 70, died July 1, 2009, in Gloria's Golden Heart Assisted Living, in Anchorage after suffering from a brain tumor. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at UAA Fine Arts Building, Music Recital Hall with the Rev. Norman H.V. Elliott officiating. She will be inurned at Anchorage Memorial Park Columbarium at a later date. Mrs. Belden was born Nov. 27, 1938, in Belleville, Kan., to the late William Orville and Mildred Irene Harding Riley. In 1956, she graduated from Belleville High School and went on to Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music in voice in 1960 and a Bachelor of Music in education in 1961. Mrs. Belden received a Master of Education in adult education from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1999. From 1960-1973, Mrs. Belden was a music teacher in the Kansas Public School and then went on to be a records clerk at the University of North Texas, Denton, from 1973-1978. Then in 1978 she and her family moved to Anchorage, where she worked at Anchorage Community College and University of Alaska Anchorage from 1978-1992 as a records clerk. She was also instructor of voice at ACC and UAA from 1980-2009. Mickey was past president of Anchorage Chapter of National Association of Teachers of Singing, and a member of Col. John Mitchell Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution. Her family states, "Mickey was a wonderful singer, inspired teacher to countless students, a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, and true friend. She took passionate interest in music, the arts and education. She was a voracious reader and water aerobics fanatic. We'll miss her wry humor and her open approach to the people she met and to the challenges and opportunities she encountered." She is survived by her husband, George Ross Belden; sons, Steven Ross (Rhea Richmond) Belden of Ninilchick and David George (Mary-Terese Cozzola) Belden of Chicago; grandchildren, Anneliese Mazatlana, Severn Rhead, and Esme Hedera Belmond, all of Ninilchick; aunt, Betty Ann Cwik of Elk Grove Village, Ill. A memorial scholarship fund will be established at UAA in the near future. Arrangements are with Witzleben Legacy Funeral Home.