Audrey Sidener

Audrey J. Sidener, 70,

Minot, passed away on

Friday, February 7, 2020

in her home.

Audrey Jean Midden-

dorf was born November

29, 1949 in Minot, ND to

Urban and Genevieve

(Linnertz) Middendorf.

She was raised on the

family farm southeast of

Grano, ND, and attended

Grano Public School for

two years.

Audrey had a deep

respect and love for her

parents and all of their

neighbors from that area.

She was proud to be from

Grano, ND, and with a

smile on her face she

often reminisced about

those days growing up on

the farm. The family later

moved into Lansford, ND,

where she graduated from

Lansford High School in

1967. She attended Minot

State Teachers College,

until the love of her life

swept her off her feet.

On May 25, 1968 she

married Steve Sidener at

St. John’s Catholic

Church, Lansford, ND.

Following their marriage

the couple lived in Max,

ND, where Steve taught

school. In 1970, they

moved to Minot, and Au-

drey began her career at

Minot State University.

She took a break from

MSU to raise their sons.

While at Minot State she

held several different po-

sitions during her career,

retiring in 2009 as Admin-

istrative Assistant to the

Vice President. Audrey

enjoyed her time at MSU

and a big part of that was

due to the students, facul-

ty, and staff she met

throughout her career,

and the life-long friend-

ships that were made.

Following Audrey’s re-

tirement, she and Steve

spent several winters with

their son Scot at his home

in Arizona. It was there

where she met all of his

friends and loved them all

as her own. She enjoyed

the warm weather, and

the social events that took

place, like the annual

Lansford reunion held in

Mesa.

Audrey loved being the

co-pilot to Steve on their

travels. They travelled to

49 states, excluding

Hawaii, and 9 Canadian

Provinces. Scot also

managed to take them

both to Guatemala. She

often claimed if she told

Steve to go left on their

travels, he went right,

never listening to her, but

they always made it to

their destination. In her

spare time between trav-

els, she enjoyed their time

on the water fishing.

She often texted Casey

pictures of their limits of

walleye they’d caught,

while he was at work. You

could hear her chuckle

through those messages.

She loved to rub it in.

She loved the drives in

the country with Steve.

Through out her illness,

when she felt up for it,

they traveled rural North

Dakota, often stopping for

lunch in different towns.

Audrey was very

proud of her three

grandchildren, and en-

joyed following their

events, be it football,

basketball, volleyball,

track, or tracking a buck

shot with their bows. She

loved it all, and was

proud of their accom-

plishments. She always

remained active in their

lives, giving them a push

and a little direction along

the way. Her wish was

that they continued to

show respect for others,

always be available to

help those in need, and

just be kind. She wanted

them to hold good

memories of her in their

hearts, and we assured

her that wouldn’t be a

problem.

Audrey and Steve cele-

brated their 50th Anniver-sary in May of 2018.

Shortly after, she was di-

agnosed with small cell

lung cancer. She told her

family she would give er

hell, and that is what she

did, she fought to the very

end. Through all her

struggles, she never com-

plained, and never gave

up. She was thankful that

she was given the oppor-

tunity to say good-bye to

those she loved. In her

words, “most don’t get

this opportunity.”

Mom was a fabulous

cook, she loved to bake,

enjoyed gardening, can-

ning, and loved family

gatherings. She and her

brother Bob had many

conversations on whose

cucumber plants had the

most blossoms, the bigger

cukes, or whose pickles or

salsa tasted the best. Back

and forth they’d go, then

laugh. With Mom fighting

her own battle, she strug-

gled with the loss of her

brother, Bob, as did many

others. We pray they are

resting easy enjoying a red

beer together.

Audrey volunteered at

the Catholic Schools in

Minot, while her sons at-

tended. She was a

member of Minot State

University Staff Senate, a

former member of Little

Flower Catholic Church,

and currently a member at

St. John the Apostle

Catholic Church, all in

Minot.

We would like to thank

our dad first and

foremost, for the care he

showed Mom, through out

their marriage, but espe-

cially this past year, dur-

ing her illness, and in her

final days. She could be

tough at times, but dad

knew how to care for her

in a way she accepted.

They were inseparable,

and a role model for their

sons and grandchildren to

follow. We would also

like to thank all our fami-

ly and friends for the

visits, dinners and

desserts this past year. We

do appreciate the kind-

ness shown, and couldn’t

have made this journey

without you. Thank you

to all the staff at Trinity

Cancer Care and Trinity

Hospice. Mom loved each

and everyone of you, and

was thankful you were

there, to help her, and her

family through this pro-

cess. Thank you to Father

Richter, Father Phillips

and Deacon Kramer, for

their visits and prayers.

We would also like to

thank Margaret Kendall

for her visits every Sun-

day to pray and give Mom

communion, she looked

forward to those visits. As

Audrey would say, “I love

you all from the bottom of

my heart!”

Those who shared in

Audrey’s life: Husband,

Steve, Minot; sons, Casey

(Rhonda) Sidener, Minot;

Scot Sidener, Scottsdale,

AZ; 3 grandchildren,

Brynn, Hunter and Bren-

na Sidener, all of Minot;

sister, Helen (Doug)

Groves, Minot; sisters and

brother-in-law, Vicky

Middendorf, Westhope,

ND, Jackie (Pat) Limke,

Minot, Marcia Schuler,

Bismarck, Mike (Marie)

Sidener, Paula Sidener

and Susan Peterson, all of

Minot; numerous nieces,

nephews and cousins sur-

vive.

Audrey was preceded

in death by: her parents,

Urban and Gen Midden-

dorf; brother, Bob Mid-

dendorf; father and

mother-in-law, R.T. and

Helen Sidener, Jr; and

brother-in-law, Dick

Schuler.

Mass of Christian Buri-

al: Saturday, February 15,

2020, at 10:30 a.m., at St.

John the Apostle Catholic

Church, Minot, ND.

Visitation and Vigil

Prayer Service: Visitation

will be Friday, February

14, 2020 from 5:00 to 7:00

p.m. with the vigil prayer

service at 7:00 p.m. all at

St. John’s Catholic

Church, Minot.

Burial: St. John’s

Catholic Cemetery, Lans-

ford, ND, at a later date.

In lieu of flowers

memorials are preferred

to St. John’s Catholic

Cemetery Association,

Lansford, ND, Trinity

Cancer Care, Trinity Hos-

pice, St. Jude’s Children’s

Hospital, or to an organi-

zation of the donor’s

choice.

Thompson-Larson Fun-

eral Home, Minot