Sidney Charles Bardwell

In Memory of Sidney Charles Bardwell Sidney “Sid” Charles Bardwell, age 86, entered into the presence of his Savior on July 19, 2026, in Colville, WA. The fourth of six children, he was born on September 23, 1939, in the newly completed family home located along the Kettle River between Curlew and Danville, WA. 

Sid was raised to stay busy, and he and his younger brother helped with the farming and worked at their father’s sawmill from an early age. But it wasn’t all work and no play—an old army jeep purchased after the war was an endless source of amusement for Sid and his younger siblings. And yet, as he grew older, Sid found himself thinking more and more about best methods for plowing specific fields or strategizing how to get one more load of lumber per day out of his father’s mill, skills which benefited him greatly later in life. 

Sid and Claire Alline Brown knew each other from an early age, and eventually started dating. They married on August 6, 1960—the beginning of sixty-one wonderful years in which they faced everything life had to offer: the hard work, tireless adventure, and endless love. Over their first eleven years together, five children joined Sid and Claire, adding excitement and joy to their lives. 

Sid and Claire enjoyed traveling across the country, even making it to Hawaii several times. Their daughter joined them for their last three big trips, in which they managed to see twenty states in total. Later in Sid’s timber career, he followed in his father’s footsteps by moving to where the work was. This meant spending several years in Alaska operating/managing a lumber mill on the Kenai Peninsula, where all of the staff were quick to nickname him “Obi-Wan” after the wise old wizard from the Star Wars films. 

Sid took great delight in his children and their lives, and even greater joy spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In turn, his kids take great pride in knowing that they could never have asked for a greater provider, protector, and teacher. That’s Sid’s legacy, and as he would have said, “That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it!” Sid is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Claire Alline (Brown) Bardwell; his father, Edmund Bardwell; his mother, Ethel (Short) Bardwell; and two sisters. 

He is survived by his five children: Richard, Ronald, Melanie, Rodger, and Sean —and their spouses; his fifteen grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, his brother and two sisters; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. A graveside service for Sidney Charles Bardwell will be held at the Mountain View Park Cemetery in Colville, Washington, on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.