- Date Of Birth: January 14, 1944
- Date Of Death: January 12, 2013
- State: Illinois
Richard E. Tidwell, 68, of Ridott passed away Saturday, January 12, 2013 at Serenity Hospice and Home in Oregon, Illinois.
He was born on January 14, 1944 in Waukegan, Illinois to Richard D. and Bernyce C. (Christensen) Tidwell. Richard served our country by joining the United States Army in 1962. He was stationed at Fort Hamilton in New York state. After an honorary discharge on December 31,1966, he green broke wild mustangs on the Bob Evans ranch in New Mexico. He then relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana.
In New Orleans, he worked for Tidewater Marine Incorporated where he crewed as a US Merchant Seaman on vessels that delivered supplies to oil rigs for thirty years where the crew fondly nicknamed him “Gator.” During that time, his boat survived several hurricanes including: Camile in 1969, Bob in 1991, and Andrew in 1992. Richard also assisted in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Gulf of Alaska. While still in New Orleans, Richard served as a duke during the Mardi Gras parades for six years. Later, as a resident of Illinois, he worked as a security officer at the LaSalle Bank and security guard at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford. Richard worked as a water safety officer at Lake Summerset and rescued two children while employed in that position. He also worked in the guard shack at Lake Summerset. Richard enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a member of the National Rifle Association and Tri-County Gun Club. He was the range safety officer at Tri-County’s annual open house. Richard Tidwell was preceded in death by his parents and several aunts and uncles.
He is survived by his sister Gail (Juergen) Kops of Germany; his brother Bruce D. (Lynn) Tidwell of Columbia, TN; niece Francie (Rob) Brown of Knoxville, TN; nephew Bruce C. (Maia) Tidwell of San Francisco, CA; and six grandnephews and nieces. He is also survived by his twenty-five-year companion Fran Jansen of Ridott; close friends Evelyn Shelly of Ridott; Joan and David Rice of Rockford; and his fuzzy-faced pal, Suzy. Richard Tidwell wanted his friends to remember him by these words, “He was good man he tried.”.
