Steve Sidener

Minot

Steve Sidener, 80, Minot died Monday, January 26 in his home after recently being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Steven Craig “Reno” Sidener was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Minot on April 17, 1945, to R.T. and Helen (Baggenstoss) Sidener, Jr. of Lansford, ND.

He attended school there, graduating in 1963. He cherished his hometown and loved playing baseball for the Lansford Cubs. He was a member of the Lansford Ghost Riders, who were inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2023.

He attended Minot State Teacher’s College in 1963 and graduated in 1967 with an English degree. During those summer months he coached the Lansford Legion, Babe Ruth and Little League baseball teams. He was a member of the Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity and cherished the friendships he made.

He taught one year in Karlsruhe, two years in Max and 39 years at Memorial Middle School, MAFB, ND. He served on numerous educational committees during those years. He loved teaching, loved the students, and loved the staff he worked with.

Steve married Audrey Middendorf on May 25, 1968, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Lansford. He said that marrying Audrey was the best thing that ever happened to him. They shared many wonderful memories on their many travels, fishing trips, and family gatherings. Together they made the most of life and enjoyed raising their two sons, Casey and Scot, and watching their grandchildren grow up. They very seldom missed an event, and Brynn, Hunter, and Brenna always felt their love and support.

He enjoyed visiting, reading, fishing, hunting, (especially Canadian Honkers) and traveling across the U.S. and Canada with Audrey. He cherished the outdoors with his sons and brother, Mike. He always enjoyed a cup of coffee or two and a good visit with his sisters Jackie, Marcia, Paula, and Sue. He loved his friends and family, and was very proud of his three grandchildren, along with Brynn’s husband Justin Engg, and Hunter’s fiancé Lauren Picard. All of these people made his life complete.

At an early age he loved to sing with his mother playing the piano and all his siblings singing along. He always said he was lucky growing up in the 50’s and 60’s. It was the best of times. Towards the end of his life he enjoyed taking anyone and everyone up to Lansford and the surrounding areas to go and have lunch, drive through the countryside where he could give you a detailed run down of who lived there now or in the past, and maybe tell you a story or two, or three, or four about where they are now, who their kids are, where they ended up, who they married and divorced…he was a walking encyclopedia of the area and of the people that lived there. He also enjoyed looking for pheasants, deer or any wildlife you could find. Sometimes if you were lucky, some of his stories would start in Lansford and he might finish the story by the time you returned to Minot. This symbolizes much of his life. A simple man born and raised in Lansford, and his life story ended in Minot, with a lifetime of memories in between.

A fact no one ever knew but he was happy to tell you was that he once slept in President Eisenhower’s bed. You’ll have to ask him about that story when you get to heaven! He will be waiting there patiently and will ask you if you “want a mint” right before he’ll tell you this story or a story about something or someone you may never have known anything about.

He will be deeply missed. There really are no words to summarize who he was. In the simplest sense, he was…himself. He never tried to be anything different. He believed that there was some good in every person,and he was the purest form of a human being. A role model for not only his kids and grandkids, but for everyone that knew him.

In his final weeks, he asked the doctor how long he had to live and they told him a few weeks to a month and he responded, “that’s fine…I’ve lived a good life”. He prepared his entire life for this moment. His faith got him here and he was ready to enter the kingdom of heaven. And there is no doubt, that’s where he’s at, reunited with all of our loved ones that have gone before him.

Steve was a member of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church and a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus, both Minot.

Those who shared in his life: Sons, Casey (Rhonda) Sidener, Minot and Scot Sidener, Scottsdale, AZ; grandchildren, Brynn (Justin) Engg, Hunter (fiancée, Lauren Picard) Sidener and Brenna Sidener; siblings, Mike and Marie Sidener, Jackie Limke, Marcia Schuler, Paula Sidener and Sue Peterson; sister-in-law, Helen and Doug Groves. Numerous nieces and nephews also survive.

Steve was preceded in death by his wife, Audrey, his parents, R.T. and Helen, Jr., father and mother-in-law, Urban and Gen Middendorf, brothers-in-law, Dick Schuler, Pat Limke, Bob and Vicky Middendorf.

Funeral: Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, Minot.

Visitation and vigil service: Visitation will be Friday from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., with the vigil service at 6:00 p.m. all at the church.

Burial: St. John’s Catholic Cemetery, Lansford, ND in the spring.

Memorials are preferred to the Lansford Fire Department, St. John’s Cemetery Association, both Lansford; or to an organization of the donor’s choice.

Published by The Minot Daily News, January 29, 2026.