Ken was born in Burlington, VT, on March 5, 1924, the son of Raymond and Marion Field Belding, having moved to Northfield early thereafter. While in high school, Ken was captain of the ski team, sang in the high school chorus, played drums in the high school band and tympany in the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.
In 1941, Ken enlisted in the Air Force and after flight training was denied fighter pilot status because of a speech impediment. He requested assignment to the Air Force Band, in which he played for the remainder of his enlistment.
After the war, he attended University of Vermont. Ken joined the ATO fraternity, led the inter-fraternity annual song competition, and was the leader and played drums in the very popular Catamount Swing Band.
He continued with his interest in sports, becoming captain of the UVM ski team, which won many outstanding titles during his tenure. He participated in the Olympic tryouts for the 1960 Winter Olympics in which Ken qualified for the cross country competition. He declined participation in the Olympics due to a personal conflict.
While at UVM, he became a member of the ski patrol at Mount Mansfield and continued with his interest in music, playing with a small group at such iconoclastic places as the Baggy Knees in Stowe, VT. Following graduation in 1957, he joined a number of "Big Bands," playing worldwide tours with such notables as Peter Duchin, Les Elgart and Johnny Mathis. On one occasion, Ken was invited to play at the Presidential Inaugural Ball for John F. Kennedy in Washington, DC.
In 1960, Ken ceased his worldwide Big Band tours and bought a house in Pleasantville, NY. Ken and Zoe continued with their music on a local level, teaching and playing in various places throughout Westchester County and neighboring areas.
Ken was an outstanding athlete and exceptional musician. Soft spoken, he rarely complained, a man without braggadocio who will be greatly missed.
Zoe is survived by her niece Cherie Nutting of New York City.
Ken is survived by his sister, Marilyn Belding Hilly, and her husband, Gerald W. Hilly, of Waitsfield; nieces Meg Hilly and Rebecca Hilly Eaton and her husband, Mark Eaton, of Park City, UT; nephew Jed Hilly and wife Susan O'Hara Hilly, Nashville, TN; and grand nieces and nephews Bailey O'Hara Hilly, Anabel O'Hara Hilly, Charles O'Hara Hilly, Wyatt Stockton Schmidt.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Vermont Chapter, American Parkinsonian Disease Association. To send online condolences please visit
