Jean Joseph Pierre André Belfort
- Published: March 6, 2025
Jean Joseph Pierre André Belfort passed away Feb. 27, 2025, in Yellow Springs.
Pierre was born in Haiti, on Feb. 8, 1933, son of André and Enide Belfort. He was the third of seven children. His father was a magistrate, and his mother was a homemaker. Pierre grew up in Haiti, and as a child designed kites, enjoyed swimming, cycling and classical music. He loved to tinker with mechanical things at an early age.
As a young man he trained to be an auto mechanic and worked on cars, earning money to travel to Paris, where he attended the Sorbonne, earning a degree in applied statistics. While in Europe he travelled extensively, visiting countries in both Western and Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union. He was still in Paris when his father was murdered. He returned to Haiti, and as the oldest son, became the head of the family and primary breadwinner to his mother and siblings. He worked in the finance department of the Haitian government.
He married Raymonde Goban in 1966. They had five daughters, Rose-Desih, Myriame, Carmine, Barbara and Michéle. They lived several years in Montreal, Canada, where two of their daughters were born, and later changed their residency to the U.S., where they lived in New York for a few more years before returning to Haiti.
Pierre and his family fled Haiti for good during the unrest that followed the ousting of President Duvalier, in 1989. Pierre and Raymonde lived in Miami, Florida, for many years, where they did legal and medical translations.
They moved to Dayton in 2010 to be close to their daughter, Barbara Wiley, and granddaughter, Sophie. Pierre and his wife took frequent trips to New York to visit their daughter, Rose-Desih Prieter, and grandson, Joshua, as well as New Jersey, to see their daughter, Michèle Belfort-Mihalyi and granddaughter, Sophia. Pierre also drove his aging Volvo to Montreal to see his daughters, Carmine Belfort and Myriame Belfort, and youngest grandchild, Athena. He and Raymonde looked forward to their roadtrips to visit family members, continuing to do so until he was 87 years old.
Pierre and Raymonde maintained relationships with their homeland, taking regular trips to Haiti as recently as a few years ago, to support families in need with funds from his personal pension.
He was a devout Catholic, as well as a Freemason. He attended services regularly at St. Mary Catholic Church in Dayton, where he was a parishioner. He rarely missed services, and even when he was no longer able to attend, he watched Mass on television regularly. He was a selfless man, devoted to his family and friends, deeply loved and admired by many throughout his life.
More recently, Pierre lived with his daughter, Barbara, and her husband, Daniel Lieff, here in Yellow Springs, where he was always appreciative of the beautiful trees and nature surrounding him, watching birds coming to feed outside his window with the dogs at his feet.
Pierre is survived by his wife, Raymonde; his five daughters; his four grandchildren; and his brother Antoine.
A service for Pierre will be held at St. Paul Catholic Church in Yellow Springs on Friday, March 7, 2025. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m., and Mass at 11 a.m.
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