CHICOPEE – On the sands of time, you left your footprints with glory! Donald Vincent Belanger, 86, of Chicopee, passed away on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 surrounded by his loving family at the Rose Monahan Hospice House in Worcester after a brief illness. Don was born in Chicopee on July 19, 1936, a son of the late Joseph A. and Marie (Menard) Belanger and was a 1954 graduate of Saint Jerome’s High School in Holyoke. Don served his country in the Army National Guard from 1958 to 1964. Don worked at Haarman Steel, which later became Dearden Iron Works, in Chicopee, beginning as a draftsman and quickly elevating to lead estimator where he was responsible for countless steel projects throughout New England and retired in 1986. Don moved to Simonich Circle in Chicopee after the state claimed imminent domain on his home on River Street in the Willimansett section of Chicopee due to the construction of I-391. Don was a faithful communicant of Sainte Rose De Lima Church in Chicopee. He was an avid Springfield Kings American Hockey League fan back when Butch Goring played his best hockey on the ice of the Eastern States Exposition Coliseum in West Springfield. He was a member of the Chicopee Lodge of Elks 1849 in Chicopee and the John Boyle O’Reilly Club in Springfield. Don is survived by his seven nephews and nieces, Rene D. Belanger of Alexandria, VA, Richard Rochford of Tampa, FL, Sandra and Thomas Belanger, both of Holyoke, Robert Rochford of Florida, Pamela (Rochford) Beam of Florida and Patricia (Belanger) Wolohan of Shrewsbury; and his nine great nephews and great nieces. In addition to his parents, Don was preceded in death by his sister, Lorraine (Belanger) Rochford and her husband, William; his brother, Rene Belanger and his wife, Janet; and his nephew, William Rochford II. His Funeral will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2023 beginning at the St. Pierre-Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020, (funeral home will open at 8:30 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at Sainte Rose de Lima Church, 594 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. His Burial will follow the Mass at Sainte Rose Cemetery, 49 Olsen Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. His family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday, April 29, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. prior to his Mass. The parking lot and main entrance of the funeral home are located in the rear at 20 Lafayette Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that memorial donations be made in his memory to Saint Joan of Arc School, 587 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020 or Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 Saint Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959. For more details and to leave his family condolence messages, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com