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.