Loretta Joan Sidman

Loretta Joan Sidman of The Dalles, Oregon, passed away on August 14th
at OHSU due to complications from a stroke. Her son and daughter were
by her side. Loretta was born in St. Francis, Kansas, on October 16,
1930, to Emil Zimbelman and Anna (Lampe) Zimbelman. She grew up during
the Dust Bowl on a farm with three siblings and graduated from St.
Francis High School in 1948. Loretta continued her education at a
local teachers' college and taught briefly in a one-room schoolhouse
until she met and married Von E. Sidman in 1949.

Loretta set up households and had four children across the country in
Nebraska, California, and Texas while Von worked with the Bureau of
Reclamation on various federal projects. They finally landed in Oregon
to work on The Dalles Dam Irrigation Project in 1964. Moving every few
years became a thing of the past when Loretta’s youngest child saw an
ad for a piece of property in The Dalles Chronicle. Von and Loretta
bought a cherry orchard on Mill Creek Road in 1971, where they
established a home that has been enjoyed by four generations of
Sidmans over the years. Loretta worked the orchard alongside her
husband and sons until they lost the trees to a bad frost and blight
in 1975.

Loretta was a hard worker in the home, on the property, and in the
workplace, with years of service at The BaKitchen, Chenoweth Middle
School as a teacher’s aide, and Stadelman’s Fruit as a line worker
until her retirement in 1990. She attended The Dalles United Methodist
Church for decades while her children were growing up. A talented
piano player and singer, Loretta loved music and cultivated that
passion in her children, resulting in many family concerts and
singalongs. The last singalong we shared with Loretta was at the
Oregon Veterans Home in The Dalles, where she received truly excellent
nursing care after her stroke in June. Loretta’s hydrangeas were the
bluest, her wave petunias the waviest, her Christmas cactus always
bloomed on time, and something that sparkled, spun, or shined was
hanging everywhere. She could hit all the high notes in “You’ll Never
Walk Alone” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” Loretta lived on her own
terms, in her home, for all but a few weeks at the end, thanks to good
genetics, the grace of God, and the support of her four children, with
lots of visits from all.

Loretta was preceded in death by her parents, stepmother, a brother,
and her beloved husband, Von Sidman, who passed away on their farm in
October 2014. She is survived by her four children: Mike Sidman of
Spanish Fork, UT; Melinda Sidman of Astoria, OR; David Sidman of The
Dalles, OR; and Paul Sidman of Lewiston, CA; 15 grandchildren; 10
great-grandchildren; and 1 great-great grandchild (so far). She is also survived by her sister,
Valjean Schultz, and her brother, Marvin Zimbelman, and his wife,
Donna. A private service will be held at Willamette National Cemetery,
where Loretta will be interred with her husband, who served honorably
in WWII in the United States Navy. In lieu of flowers, donations can
be made to your local chapter of the Salvation Army or St. Jude
Children's Hospital.