The Ide Family Home Page

For now, I am posting mostly just Richard’s obituary. But if anyone would like to send me a nice remembrance, story, sentence or pictures, send them to me by.

Theodore, Richard H. age 74 of Pompano Beach, FL passed away on September 5, 2013. He was a local resident since moving from New Fairfield, CT in 2004. He is survived by his loving wife, Leslie; by daughter, Amy (David) Ide; by granddaughter, Samantha Ide; by sisters: Delphine, Delores and Joyce; and by numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Myrtle. A funeral mass is scheduled for Monday, September 9th, 9:00am at St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Pompano Beach. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Pompano Beach. In lieu of flowers, make donations to your local hospice or mass intentions may be arranged through St. Rita Catholic Church, Hamden, CT or St. Gabriel Catholic Church. Arrangements were made by: Kraeer Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 200 N. Federal Hwy., Pompano Beach, FL 33062. Phone: 954-941-4111.

My Dad, Morton Ide, died Saturday, July 21, 2012, at St. Raphael’s Hospital, New Haven, Conn., surrounded by his wife, Phyllis, of 59 years, his three sons, other family and friends. The information below was partially from his obituary.

Dad was born at Grace Hospital in New Haven, the middle son of Rachel and Edward Ide of New Haven.

He attended New Haven schools and graduated Hillhouse High in 1948. He married Phyllis on May 17, 1953. He lived in North Haven for 50 years.

Morton & Phyllis Ide in 1969

Dad worked as an X-ray technician with United Nuclear Corp. for many years and later worked in quality control for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in North Haven, retiring in 1995.

In 2007 he was awarded for years of service as a poll worker in North Haven. In recent years he also worked with Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.

Gregarious and outgoing, he enjoyed travel with his dear friends. He was an avid fan of the N.Y. Mets, the N.Y. Giants, and UConn Huskies Girls Basketball. He also enjoyed history and researching his family ancestry. Several years ago, he and I spent days researching our family history at the National Archives in Waltham, Mass. We were both thrilled when we found on file there his grandfather’s naturalization papers. Not just copies, but the actual document signed by his grandfather.

Dad was very proud of his grandchildren, enjoying that Jared and Rachel both were attending college and doing well. He was always present and involved in the lives of his granddaughters Lauren, Katelyn and Samantha, whom he saw frequently. “No matter what grandpa could always make you laugh and bring a smile to your face,” said Lauren.

Dad and Mom with all the grandchildren, Thanksgiving 2011.

Dad and I together at his 80th birthday party in 2009.

Dad with his three boys at a Mets game in 2010.

When I was growing up, Morty was always involved in his family. He fixed the family cars with all three of his boys, though Danny really picked up the mechanical genes. I remember helping change water pumps, hoses, flushing radiators. You name it, I bet we fixed it. I was not very good at this stuff, but Dad was patient with me. He was proud of Danny’s involvement in football and David’s involvement in North Haven track.

I conducted a series of interviews with Dad, asking all sorts of family questions. Those videos are here:

You can tell from the interviews that Dad loved to talk about our family history and the events that shaped his life. We will all miss him dearly.

We miss cousin Jack, a father, grandfather and wonderful man who left behind a family who love him very much. Growing up I spent many hours at Jack’s house, even regularly cutting his lawn and tormenting Susan with fake spiders. Jack’s memory will remain forever in our hearts.

Jack's gravestone in New Haven.

Click images to see more photos from the gathering.

Phyllis and Anne at the gathering after Jack's unveiling. Click image to see more photos.

After a struggle of almost a year with cancer, we lost our brother-in-law, Warren “Tad” Sisman. Tad had a way to become friends with anyone and he touched the lives of everyone around him. He will be sorely missed.

Here is a link to his obituary in the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., where people can sign the guestbook and read about Tad’s life. Touching article about Tad in the Commercial Appeal

Here is a brief slideshow of Tad and our family:

Here is Victor many years ago with Jared, who now is almost 22.

On May 13, we lost Linda and Deb’s dad, Victor Lumper, who passed while reading in his favorite chair and no doubt trying to disprove the validity of the Big Bang theory. I remember a long conversation with Victor at the dinner table Christmas 2009 in which he was determined to prove to me that the Big Bang theory of the universe’s creation was impossible. He said he was writing a book about it.

As you might imagine, Victor was a learned man, and his concepts often befuddled me. But he was always striving for knowledge, right up til the end. He was a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, serving as a pilot in the Navy. Though he had a distinguished military career, Victor didn’t like to talk much about the things he saw when he served.

Here is the text of the obituary which ran in the Darien News:

Victor Z. Lumper

Victor in the classroom. Date unknown.

Victor Z. Lumper of Newtown, died unexpectedly at his home Thursday, May 13. He was 89, and a cancer survivor.

Born in Union, Ore., on Nov. 25, 1920, he was the son of the late John Harry and Ida (Greenwood) Lumper.

He lived in Darien for more than 20 years with his wife Doris Higgins and raised his family there. He later moved to Newtown, where he lived for more than 20 years.

He received his undergraduate degree from UCLA in zoology and his master’s degree in education from Yale University. He was a decorated lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and served as a pilot in World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars. While in the Navy, he also served as an instructor for NROTC and while stationed in Newport, R.I., he taught at Officer’s Candidate School.

He moved to Darien in 1960 and taught at Darien High School until 1992, when he retired from teaching. He also worked at PMS, Inc., based in Stamford, then in Darien, as a chemist, for many years.

He enjoyed spending time in his yard, tending to his garden, his animals and his bees. He was an avid reader, always trying to improve his own knowledge. He also enjoyed country western and ballroom dancing. He was a great dancer. He enjoyed telling interesting stories to his friends and neighbors about his life experiences.

Survivors include two daughters, Deborah Ide and her husband, Stephen, of Norton, Mass., and Linda Sisman and her husband, Warren Jr. (Tad), of Olive Branch, Miss.; one sister, Roberta Jean Lumper of Spokane, Wash.; four grandchildren, Jared and Rachel Ide of Norton and Erica and Lee Sisman of Olive Branch; many nieces and nephews; and Marjorie Costa, his long-time companion.

A future date will be set for immediate family to celebrate his life.

Memorial donations can be made to The American Cancer Society or a favorite charity of your choice.