NAMES IN THE NEWS

ASC Veteran Passes Away

JUNE 2023

Joseph Charles Belshe, MD, founder of St. Cloud Surgical Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota, died on May 21, 2023. He was 102 years old.

Belshe was born in Cement, Oklahoma, and graduated from Carleton College and the University of Minnesota Medical School, according to his obituary on Legacy. He joined the military while in medical school and acquired the rank of captain before being honorably discharged. After returning from the military, he practiced briefly in Northfield, Minnesota, before moving to St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, to join a practice with a medical school friend. Belshe practiced family medicine and general surgery, and later went back to the University of Minnesota to do a three-year fellowship in anesthesia. After his fellowship, he joined the hospital in St. Cloud and founded the St. Cloud Surgical Center in 1972. He was a pioneer in the ASC world.

Belshe married his first wife, June, in 1944 and had four children with her. He married his second wife, Mary Catherine Loch, in 1970, after June passed away. He and Mary Catherine Loch ran marathons and took part in triathlons and recreational cycling. He continued cycling well into his 90s and did his last ride in December 2022. He was a poet, a literature lover and a fan of John Wayne movies. He was preceded in death by his first wife, June; parents, Helen and Charles; and siblings, Tom, Daisy and Richard. He is survived by his wife, four children, seven grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on June 15, 2023, at First Presbyterian Church, 175 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be sent to the First Presbyterian Church or to Cornerstone Hospice Foundation, 2445 Lane Park Road, Tavares, FL 32778.