TIDYMAN, Thomas Carson (Tom)

Vistoso Funeral Home, Oro Valley, Arizona Thomas C Tidyman November 11, 1932 - October 22, 2013 Thomas Carson Tidyman, 15-year resident of SaddleBrooke and 2 1/2-year resident of Splendido in Oro Valley died Oct. 22 after a brief illness. Friends are invited to join Tom's family for a celebration of Tom's life on Saturday, Nov. 16, 3 p.m., at Vistoso Funeral Home. A Montana native, Tom was born Nov. 11,1932 to James A. and Frances Carson Tidyman. He grew up in Valier, graduated in 1954 in geology from the University of Montana at Missoula, served two years in the U.S. Air Force, and returned to UofM for graduate study. He married college sweetheart Barbara Mellott Sept. 1, 1956. Tom was a high school and college athlete and member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He worked for 25 years as an engineering geologist for the State of California Water Resources Dept. on aqueduct, dam and power-plant foundations and construction. He also did the same work for 10 years for Commonwealth Associates in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, and in Iran in the 1970s. Tom was active in community, PTA, swim club and Little League activities with his children and he and Barbara played competitive mixed-doubles tennis. He was an avid gardener of vegetables and his favorite flowers, begonias. He took pleasure in home-improvement projects and "fixing things". During his SaddleBrooke years he enjoyed playing bridge and tennis, and was president of the SaddleBrooke Table Tennis Club for several years. At Splendido, Tom spent several hours each day in fitness-center activities and swimming, and enjoyed playing pool and table tennis. Tom was a member of Splendido's Hospitality, Tag-Sale and Salutista committees. For the past six years Tom was a back-room volunteer at the Golden Goose Thrift Shop in Catalina. He was a constant reader of non-fiction history and biographies. Tom is survived by his wife, Barbara; his son Todd and daughter-in-law Kelly of Avondale, AZ; son Tim, also of Avondale; daughter Karen and son-in-law Richard Marshall of St. Paul, MN; grandsons Ben Marshall of Minneapolis and Colin Marshall, a senior at Michigan State University. Tom's three brothers survive -- Jim and wife, Mary Ann, of Rancho Mirage, CA Jack and wife, Susan, of Danville, CA; and Bill and wife, Clarice, of Arvada, CO, He is also survived by sisters-in-law Dorothy Wolpert of Lacey, WA, Harriet Griffing and her partner Wayne Hayward of Yuma, and by beloved nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. The family suggests memorials to the Splendido Scholarship Fund, c/o Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, 2250 E. Broadway Blvd., Tucson 85719 or Catalina Community Services, 3535 E. Hawser St., Tucson 85739.