John (Jack) Tidyman
October 1934 – November 2021
Danville resident
John (Jack) Tidyman was born in Conrad, Montana, and raised in the small town of Valier. He was the third of four sons: Jim, Tom, Jack and Bill. At seventeen, following a family tradition, he enrolled at the University of Montana in Missoula. He played basketball for the UM team and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity creating lifelong friendships.
In 1971, Jack started the Beta Delta Sigma Chi Golf Tournament, held annually in Danville and Tahoe for over thirty-five years. Sigma Chi brothers from across the country and their wives have joined each summer for the “Tenth Annual”.
Besides golf, Jack loved skiing and all the events related to ski adventures. After college he was briefly a “ski enthusiast,†worked at a ski resort, and owned a small hotel in Whitefish, MT.
Then he left for Europe, where he taught in American military schools in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy. In the late 1960s, Jack moved to the Bay Area and found the perfect career – a fifth grade teacher at Walnut Acres Elementary School. There he combined his fascination with mathematics and his love of art with students who appreciated his unique nicknames for them.
Jack loved people and life. Whether he was driving his Vespa through the streets of Villefranche, fishing in Phuket, hitting a golf ball on the first tee at Diablo, dancing in Rio or going for an Irish Coffee at Buena Vista, every day was an adventure to be lived. savored – with family and friends.
Jack is survived by his wife Susan, sons Travis and Chance, daughter-in-law Sarah Koch, grandchildren Lauren and Jake and the “bonus families†Dani and Kaylie O’Connell, the Griswolds and the Billeters. He is also survived by his brother Bill and his wife Clarice, as well as several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Jack’s life and times will take place in late spring.
In memory of Jack, please support your local food bank.
October 1934 – November 2021
Danville resident
John (Jack) Tidyman was born in Conrad, Montana, and raised in the small town of Valier. He was the third of four sons: Jim, Tom, Jack and Bill. At seventeen, following a family tradition, he enrolled at the University of Montana in Missoula. He played basketball for the UM team and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity creating lifelong friendships.
In 1971, Jack started the Beta Delta Sigma Chi Golf Tournament, held annually in Danville and Tahoe for over thirty-five years. Sigma Chi brothers from across the country and their wives have joined each summer for the “Tenth Annual”.
Besides golf, Jack loved skiing and all the events related to ski adventures. After college he was briefly a “ski enthusiast,†worked at a ski resort, and owned a small hotel in Whitefish, MT.
Then he left for Europe, where he taught in American military schools in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy. In the late 1960s, Jack moved to the Bay Area and found the perfect career – a fifth grade teacher at Walnut Acres Elementary School. There he combined his fascination with mathematics and his love of art with students who appreciated his unique nicknames for them.
Jack loved people and life. Whether he was driving his Vespa through the streets of Villefranche, fishing in Phuket, hitting a golf ball on the first tee at Diablo, dancing in Rio or going for an Irish Coffee at Buena Vista, every day was an adventure to be lived. savored – with family and friends.
Jack is survived by his wife Susan, sons Travis and Chance, daughter-in-law Sarah Koch, grandchildren Lauren and Jake and the “bonus families†Dani and Kaylie O’Connell, the Griswolds and the Billeters. He is also survived by his brother Bill and his wife Clarice, as well as several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Jack’s life and times will take place in late spring.
In memory of Jack, please support your local food bank.
View the online memorial for John (Jack) Tidyman
Published by East Bay Times on December 5, 2021.
