On September 17, Russell and Mary Kidman received the injuries that resulted in their deaths from a collision with a driver who has been indicted on charges of drunk driving.
Russell Kidman, 58, died Friday, September 17, 1999. Russ was born on March 22, 1941 in Huron, SD, the third of four children to Bert and Signe Larson Kidman. Russ enjoyed an idyllic boyhood in Wessington Springs, SD, hiking the hills, hunting, and doing well at high school sports. He continued with track in college at South Dakota State University. He and Mary Ann Olsen married June 16, 1962. A daughter, Stacey Lee, was born in 1963 as Russ was working on his MS in physics at South Dakota State University. Another daughter, Sonya Marie, arrived in 1965 as Russ was serving in the Army at Ft. Belvoir, VA. Russ then worked for Battelle at Hanford in Richland, WA, where he did ground-breaking work in nuclear cross-section preparation. In 1970, he went to work for Westinghouse. While in Richland, Russ enjoyed archery, swimming, and building RC gliders and a telescope. In 1974, the family came to Los Alamos, where Russ worked in T-2 (Nuclear Theory and Applications), T-6 (Theoretical Astrophysics), A-4 (Energy and Environmental Analysis), and TSA-10 (Nuclear Systems Design and Analysis). Russ loved skiing, sailing, hiking, bicycling, gardening, canning applesauce and tomato juice, and sharing his homemade ice cream. He also loved his three grandchildren, Victoria and Mitchell Lee, and Ryland Plassmann.
Mary Ann Kidman, 55, died Sunday October 31, 1999. Mary was born on September 1, 1944 in Mitchell, SD, the eldest of three children to Melvin and Thelma Sorensen Olsen. Mary grew up on a ranch at Gann Valley, SD, and was active in 4-H, and enjoyed playing the piano. She went to high school in Wessington Springs, SD, where she participated in many student activities. Mary and Russell Kidman married on June 16, 1962. Daughter Stacey Lee was born in 1963 and daughter Sonya Marie was born in 1965. The family moved to Richland, WA, where Mary received her nursing degree from Columbia Basin College. In 1974, the family moved to Los Alamos, NM. Mary was an avid student with a wide range of interests, and in 1995 received her degree in BCS from the Anderson School of Business at the University of New Mexico. Mary's special focus was the League of Women Voters. She served twice as state president and devoted countless hours to League issues. She was active in the Los Alamos Civitans and was a member of Los Alamos Garden Club. She enthusiastically shared her life with her many friends and was a loving mother to her daughters and a wonderful grandmother to Victoria, Mitchell, and Ryland.
The memorial service for Russ and Mary will be held at the United Church of Los Alamos on Thursday, November 11 at 2:00 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to MADD, 8200 Mountain RD. NE, Suite 210, Albuquerque, NM 87110 or to Friends of Bandelier, P. O. Box 1282, Los Alamos, NM 87544.