John Stefan Belko

John Stefan Belko died January 30, 2010, in New London after an extended illness. He was 89. John was born on March 28, 1920, in Sambron, Czechoslovakia, in what is now eastern Slovakia. He immigrated with his parents, Stefan and Katrin Belko, to the United States in 1922, entering through Ellis Island. The family settled in Bridgeport, Conn. The Belkos eventually became restaurateurs and property owners. John graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. On the day after Pearl Harbor Day he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Pacific for four years. After the war, John returned to the U.S. and began graduate studies in biochemistry at the University of Vermont in Burlington. It was there that he met and married his English professor, Vivian Amos. John and Vivian lived in Medford, Westwood and Foxborough, Mass. John worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Roxbury as the director of research. He and a team from Harvard Medical School worked on the development of several important drugs, including the frequently used anticoagulant Coumadin. John conducted all the early clotting studies for that drug. After retirement, he and Vivian moved full time to Wellfleet, Mass., on Cape Cod where they were active in the historical society and Cape Cod preservation for 10 years. They then moved to Duxbury, Mass., and lived there briefly before finding and falling in love with the village of Adamsville in Little Compton, R.I. In Adamsville, they reassembled an antique cape. They shared a passion for buying and collecting a wide variety of early American antiques. Additionally, they loved gardening. John graduated from the Master Gardener Program and volunteered for 10 years at the University of Rhode Island Horticultural Lab. He became an excellent home gardener and an accomplished arborist as well. Following Vivian's death in 2005, John moved first to Hill and finally to New London. He enjoyed the open space of New Hampshire and the vast historical architecture. He continued to garden through last fall. He was able to take two trips to his native Slovakia as well as taking an extensive cruise which included going through the Panama Canal. He is survived by his daughter Kathleen Belko, his grandson Stefan Timbrell and great-grandchildren Connor and Makenzie Timbrell, all of New London; his daughter Karen Polk and her son, Lucius Polk, of Washington, D.C.; daughters Kristin Belko of Lander, Wyo., and Amy Belko and her two daughters, Kate and Lily Marra, of Tumwater, Wash. Mr. Belko was eagerly awaiting the birth of twin great-grandsons, who will also be in New London. In May, there will be a gathering in Tiverton, R.I., where he will be buried with his wife. In memory please make donations to the Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410, or to Tracy Memorial Library, 304 Main St., New London, NH 03257.