In 1959, Spanish and English teacher Shelton Thomas Belsches Sr. became the state's first supervisor of foreign languages with the Virginia Department of Education.

He organized the state's first summer institutes at Longwood College and at the University of Virginia for public school teachers who taught foreign languages.

Mr. Belsches, who retired in 1978 as director of secondary education with the Fairfax County school system, died Wednesday at his Hopewell home.

A funeral for the 86-year-old educator will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Hopewell, where he was a member. Burial will be in Southlawn Memorial Park in Prince George County.

In the Fairfax system, he also served as assistant principal for instruction at W.T. Woodson and George C. Marshall high schools as well as principal of James Madison High School and Centreville Elementary School.

Mr. Belsches went into his foreign-language career cold, never having taken a language in high school, said his daughter, Jane Nardone of Montpelier.

"He saw this advertisement at the University of Richmond for the Spanish School at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt., which was welcoming applicants," Nardone said. "On a fluke, he applied, not expecting to be accepted. They accepted him, and he loved it.

"He was always a man of words. He loved to learn. He loved foreign languages."

Highly involved with his students, he once brought them all home for a Spanish dinner. "He liked to get them out of the classroom setting and experiencing things," Nardone said.

Mr. Belsches retired to the Prince George area, where he was born, and taught Spanish in the Petersburg school system until 1985.

He began his career teaching at Sunnyside High School in Dinwiddie County and at Petersburg High School.

He later served as principal of Prince George High School and was a former member of the Prince George School Board.

Mr. Belsches earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond and a master's degree from the Spanish School of Middlebury College.

He also served as a Spanish instructor at Dartmouth College and as a technical writer at the Fort Lee Quartermaster School.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife of 52 years, Teresa Harvell Belsches; another daughter, Jennifer Webster of Dinwiddie; two sons, Charles Elliott Belsches of Shady Side, Md., and Shelton T. Belsches Jr. of Chesterfield County; and seven grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.