Gabrielle “Gabi” Catherine Belmont, age 63, passed away on September 8, 2021 at her home in Colorado Springs, CO from natural causes.

She was born in Riverside, CA on November 25, 1957, to Earle and Sharon (Palmer) Belmont. Nestled precariously in a dresser drawer, just days old, Gabi traversed all 2,600 miles to Philadelphia, PA where she proudly spent her childhood and adolescence before moving to Colorado Springs, CO as a teenager. After graduating High School in 1975 she joined the Air Force where she worked as an airframe repair specialist on C5 Galaxy cargo planes. She was a jack of all trades and worked in several fields. She favored “odd-jobs” over a steady career. These odd jobs pertained more to the jobs themselves and not their nature of being one-off or short-lived. These jobs included but are not limited to (and in no particular order):  electronic assembler, bird breeder, private detective assistant, volunteer art teacher, cat rescue program coordinator, bartender, nanny, dog-sitter, salesperson, and the ones she bragged about the most – pool shark and street racer. 

An eccentric personality doesn’t quite encapsulate who Gabi was or how she lived life. Curious from day one, she cherished her Nancy Drew book compilation and could be found snooping in almost any setting. She was a collector of stories and things, most prolifically a rock collection that continuously grew with the assistance of her grandson. She was a self-proclaimed adventurer and perpetual wanderer which manifested in walks that she took for hours at a time and getting turned around on drives down unfamiliar roads. She loved every minute of it (plus it helped her collect more rocks along the way). Gabi always felt that she was right, and she did everything her own way. This allowed her to live her life the way she wanted to, but it also meant that she never got her oil changed.

Gabi will be remembered for her tenacious spirit, relentless curiosity, unyielding stubbornness, and innate ability to see the world as no one else did. She is survived by her children: Ian Shelton, Hannah Shelton, and Kyle Shelton, grandson Rowan Shelton, mother Sharon “Sherry” Belmont, and sister Sheri Belmont, several nieces and nephews, many cousins, other family members and friends, and her dog Sunny. She was preceded in death by her father, Earle Belmont.

At her request, a private Irish wake will be held to “have a party, tell stories, and laugh rather than cry.”