Ina Mae Stidham

Ina Mae Stidham, 96, was born Thursday, September 4, 1919, in Boone, Iowa, to George Raymond and Ina Maebelle (Smith) Zimbelman. She passed away on Monday, August 8, 2016, in her apartment at Solterra in Lakeside, AZ.   She learned piano from her mother starting at a very early age. She also began to take lessons on the violin.  As a young girl, she became a dedicated Christian; forever after that, wherever she went, she was always known as a Christian musician.   Ina Mae attended Boone (IA) High School, where she performed in orchestral and choral groups. She graduated from there in 1936-37.   From 1937-39, she studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. She secured a position as a caretaker in a well-to-do home and was, in turn, assisted by that family with some of the finances needed for her education in music.   In 1939-42, she transferred her studies to Colorado State Teachers’ College in Greeley. There, she continued her pursuits in music, achieving mastery on the viola, violin, piano, and in conducting, while obtaining her teaching credentials.  One of her English professors at Greeley was James A. Michener, who wrote extensive good wishes in her college yearbook. During WW2, she worked in a telegraph office in Denver and played viola as a member of the Denver Symphony.   She was married to SSGT Kenneth Stidham, US Army Air Corps, on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), in Colorado Springs. She obtained her first teaching job at Bear Creek School, near Denver.  Following a transfer to the Air Base at Mountain Home, ID, they had their first child, Kenneth Wayne, on June 11, 1945.   Upon Ken’s discharge from the Air Corps, he and Ina Mae moved to Muskogee, OK, where her next three boys, Clayton, Freddy and Tommy, were born. At nearby Tahlequah, Ina obtained a teaching position while Kenneth completed his teaching credential at Northeastern State Teachers’ College.   In 1954, Ina, Kenneth and family moved to Grand Canyon, AZ, where both had teaching jobs. That was where daughter, Nora, was born, in 1955.  After only one year at the Canyon, Ina’s family moved to Camp Verde, AZ, for another one-year teaching stint during 1955-56. During 1956-57, the family lived in 6 places: Camp Verde, AZ, Norman, OK, Indian Pine (Near McNary), AZ, and 3 different places in Lakeside, AZ. The latter town became the family home for the next 60 years, and counting.  The Stidham family became well established in Lakeside ever after. In 1958, while at Lakeside, Ina Mae lost her newborn daughter, Rose, in April, her oldest son, Wayne (to a tragic drowning accident), in May; and in September, her house burnt to the ground, along with all her family pictures and stringed instruments. Upon losing Wayne, Ina was heard to say, “Nothing will ever be hard again.”  And she lived out the rest of her life by those words, remaining stoic and unflappable, regardless of the circumstances.   In 1960, at age 41, Ina gave birth to her last child, George, at the short-lived Josephine Goldwater Hospital in Show Low, AZ.   Husband Kenneth had a long teaching career in McNary, while Ina taught at McNary, Lakeside, Pinetop, Pinetop-Lakeside, and lastly, Blue Ridge, retiring in 1981. She taught mostly in the lower grades; but she also was highly influential in establishing the first Kindergarten, Special Education, and orchestral strings programs for the District.   Wherever Ina went, she was always in church and she always provided music in church and community-related services. From her childhood and forward, she was a stalwart, born-again believer in, and follower of, the Lord Jesus Christ.  She lived by His Word, loved learning from it, and was a great admirer of the thousands of musical tributes written in His honor throughout the ages.   She was co-founder of the White Mountain Musical Arts Club, which provides scholarships for Jr. High and High School students who compete for them annually. She was also a charter member of the Silver Creek Symphony.   She is survived by sons Clayton, Tommy and George, and daughter Nora, along with 15 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren (with 1 more on the way).   After they both retired from teaching, Ina Mae and Ken maintained a summer residence in Pinetop and a winter place in Ajo, AZ. She was widowed in 1995, but continued migrating back and forth between Ajo and the White Mountains, while establishing incalculable lifelong friendships, the most remarkable of which was with a loving and devoted caregiver, Michelle Bartlett, who became to Ina and the Stidhams a most cherished, helpful and loyal family member. A Visitation will be held on Friday, August 26, 2016 from 6:00-7:30 @ Owens Livingston Mortuary, 320 N. 9th St., Show Low, AZ. Visitation will also be at the Blue Ridge Christian Center, 184 W. White Mountain Blvd., Lakeside, Az. at 10:30 am on Saturday, August 27, 2016.  The  Funeral Service will begin at 11:00 am.  Burial will follow in the Lakeside Cemetery.