Obituary for Glen Diehl Belmont

“Coach Glen” Belmont
Feb. 23, 1933 – Aug. 9, 2019

Glen Belmont 86 of Orwigsburg passed away peacefully with her husband Paul “Jeri” Belmont at her side after a courageous battle with cancer.

Born February 23, 1933 in Philadelphia to Ora Louise Cooper and Glen Walter Deihl both graduates of Bucknell University. Glen’s father was an All-American football player and Hall of Fame standout at Bucknell. He would go on to play for the Frankfurt Yellow Jackets which later became the Philadelphia Eagles. Glen’s younger brother John played football for the University of Virginia and was then drafted to the NFL in 1958 by the Baltimore Colts. He played in the NFL until 1965. Glen herself was in the football spotlight being featured in Life Magazine for kicking a football 50 yards in her bare feet.

Glen’s athletic career however was in swimming. She swam varsity for Temple University where she received a degree in secondary education. Glen competitively swam events into her seventies earning gold medals at both the Keystone State games and Virginia Senior Olympic Games, qualifying for the National Senior Olympics. She went on to place fourth, fifth, seventh, and ninth among former Olympic swimmers in San Antonio Texas in 1995. She then went on to win four gold medals at the Virginia Games at age 65.

Glen was extremely proud of her years teaching at the Mastbaum High School in inner city Philadelphia where she was named Teacher of the Year several times. Her summers when not teaching were spent as both swim team coach and swim instructor at St. Francis Center, Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Even in retirement, Glen combined her passion for teaching and swimming and became a much beloved swim instructor and coach at Blue Mountain. A fixture on the Schuylkill County Swim scene, Coach Glen who was also PIAA swim official left quite a legacy even having the new Blue Mountain scoreboard named after her.

In addition to her parents, Glen is preceded in death by her three siblings; Claire, Mike and John, and also a daughter Wendi.

Glen is survived by her husband Paul “Jeri”, two daughters, one son, seven grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. She will be missed by never forgotten.

A memorial service will be held at Noon on Saturday August 24 at Grabowski Funeral Home, Schuylkill Haven. Family and friends are welcome from 9:00 A.M. until the start of services. In lieu of flowers the family requests donation to Hospice VNA – Shamokin, 21 W Independence St, Shamokin, PA 17872. Memories and condolences can be shared at www.grabowskifuneralhome.com