Community Mourns Longtime Teacher, Former Belmont Mayor

BELMONT - Stan Sobel, a man who made a big impact on his community and on hundreds of local students, died last week at age 74.

Born in Columbus, Sobel attended Ohio State University and several other institutions of higher learning before launching his career as a science teacher. He moved to Belmont County in the 1970s, beginning a long term of service at Union Local High School teaching classes such as biology and physiology. Dozens of his former students expressed kind wishes for him or a willingness to help meet his needs during his recent illness.

Polly Collins, Sobel's best friend and companion, said Sobel died from lung cancer, first diagnosed in 2018. He underwent surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy in his efforts to overcome the disease.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Collins said a memorial service for Sobel will be delayed. She hopes to hold a ceremony in the village of Belmont, perhaps near the playground that is dedicated in his honor, sometime during the summer.

Collins said Friday that Sobel was most proud of his students and the things that they accomplished after graduation. She said he also wanted each and every one of them to find their own way in life.

"One thing I think was important to him is that he wanted people to be individuals and not feel like they had to do things just because other people were doing them," Collins said. "He believed in being passionate about things -- everything he did, he did with passion. Nothing he did was halfway done -- he was not that kind of teacher, mayor or friend. I think he would want others to do that, too."

Among the things Collins said Sobel was passionate about were Ohio State University football, spending time soaking up the sun and listening to the blue waters move during visits to the beach and a belief that all life on Earth came from an alien source.

In addition to a teaching career that spanned decades, Sobel continued to change his community for the better after his retirement by serving first as a member of the Union Local Board of Education and later as mayor of the village of Belmont. He served a single term as mayor beginning in 2016, but during that time he launched many initiatives that are still shaping the community today.

Ron Woods succeeded Sobel as mayor when Sobel opted not to seek re-election. Woods also was the first person to step up and help Sobel re-establish the village government upon taking office. As Sobel stepped into his new role, all the members of Village Council resigned along with the fiscal officer, leaving Sobel unable to act. He was not even able to pay village employees for their work, since there was no council in place to approve the payroll expenditure.

"Stan ... was a very organized man," Woods said. "He always had a plan, always wanted to sit down and think things through -- look at every possible angle before moving forward. He was very intelligent and really did his research. He wanted things done right and by the book."

Woods, who was himself a student of Sobel's in the mid-1990s, said education remained one of Sobel's passions outside the classroom during his tenure as mayor. He noted that most younger members of council had Sobel as a teacher and pointed out that Sobel started a scholarship program that supports one ULHS student becoming a non-voting member of council each year.

"He was most passionate about learning and helping people succeed when they wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to," Woods said.

Woods credited Sobel for forming a relationship with the Belmont County land bank that he believes will help the village tear down its deteriorating school building. He said Sobel also was responsible for construction of a new playground at the school site, for starting a street paving program that is still underway and for remodeling space in the old gymnasium that became the village offices.

In addition, Woods said Sobel started the annual village Christmas tree lighting ceremony, a program that delivers fruit baskets to village veterans for Veterans Day, a Breakfast with Santa program and a summer youth camp. He said Sobel also revived the traditions of holding a Memorial Day parade and a Halloween Fun Night.

"He's done a lot," Woods said.

Because he played so many roles in life, Collins said Sobel "tended to have compartments people fit in. My compartment was travel and fun and friends. When he was mayor of Belmont, I don't think I ever attended any of the events he had ... because I didn't fit in that compartment."

In addition to the compartment for students, Sobel also had a special place for his "second family" — the William Bartels family. Not only was Sobel close with Bill and wife Bernice, but he was also very connected to their children and grandchildren.

Sarah Scott, granddaughter of Bill and Bernice, reflected on Sobel's life in social media posts.

"What a wonderful person," she wrote. "It is really hard to wrap your head around all of the love he outpoured in everything he did."

HIs neighbors and the residents of Belmont had their own compartments, too. He formed such strong relationships with some of them that they helped see him through his illness, allowing him to stay at home until his death, in keeping with his wishes.

Collins cited neighbors Carol and Jim Saksa, in particular, as people who made a special effort to help Sobel as his health declined. Carol, a retired nurse, served as Sobel's primary caregiver.

"If anybody exemplifies the kind of community Stan hoped Belmont would be, Carol and Jim are it," she said.

She also credited neighbors Rod and Rhonda Roby for providing Sobel with many delicious, nutritious meals during the course of his illness. And she expressed thanks to a young woman she did not know who stopped frequently to take Sobel's beloved dog, Opie, for long walks.

Collins concluded by saying Sobel made a strong impression on many people and will long be remembered.

"He had a knack for helping you find yourself ... ," she said. "I heard somebody say that everybody dies twice. The first time is when your physical body dies. The second is when the last person's memory of you has faded. It will be a long, long time before he's not in someone's memory."