Olen Sumpter Stidham

OLEN SUMPTER STIDHAM

Iowa City

Olen Sumpter Stidham, 87, of Iowa City, died on Nov. 27, 2018, at Mercy Hospital.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, at Greater Iowa City Church of the Nazarene, 1035 Wade St. The Rev. Dr. Timothy Stidham and the Rev. Teresa Stecker will be officiating. The family will greet friends at the church one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at Oakland Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Olen was born on July 9, 1931, in Alabama, to Claude and Dona (Sanderson) Stidham. He enjoyed spending time with his two siblings, Roland and Shirley (Stidham) Anthony. It was love at first sight when he met Sena Lavada Thornton in Shelbyville, Ind. The couple married on Sept. 25, 1950, moving to Iowa in 1951 and raised their four children. Olen lost a part of himself when Lavada passed away in 2006.

He worked at Hy-Vee for many years before being self--employed as a skilled home builder. Olen built homes that won first place for several years in the Parade of Homes. He enjoyed gardening and kept a perfect lawn.

Olen is survived by his children, Deborah (Mark) Wilson of Iowa City, Iowa, JoAnn McFatter of Yuba City, Calif., Tarisa (Michael) Stidham-Ball and Timothy (Ellen) Stidham of Dyer, Ind.; grandchildren, Micheal McFatter of Yuba City, Calif., Jason (Allison) McFatter of Kansas City, Mo., Steve Wilson of Champaign, Ill., Kate Wilson of Ames, Iowa, London (DeeDee) Varner of Marietta, Ga., Daniel (Jacquie) Varner of Lee's Summit, Mo., Joel (Shamila) Varner of Charlotte, N.C., Micah Jon Varner of Statesville, Ga., Sarah Stidham of Crown Point, Ind., and Rachel Stidham of Charlottesville, Va.; and great-grandchildren, Alexis Varner, Atticus Varner, Abigale Varner, Selah Varner, Eisley Varner and Azariah Varner.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife and two siblings.

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