Steven Barry Sidman of Braintree and formerly of Scarborough, ME passed away on December 11. He was the beloved husband of the late Brenda Sidman and devoted father of Jessica Sidman and her husband Tom Weston, Angela Sidman, and Hilary Ridge and her husband Kieran Ridge. He was the dear brother of Rosanne Karp and Peter Sidman. Steven was also the adoring grandfather of Brian Weston, Andrew Weston, Madeline Ridge, Liam Ridge, and Emilia Ridge.
Steven graduated from Peabody High School in 1966, where he met his wife of 51 years, Brenda. Steven and Brenda were devoted to one another and enjoyed gossiping about their children, drinking iced coffee, and sitting with cats.
Steven knew from a young age that he would be an electrical engineer and graduated from Tufts University with his engineering degree in 1970. He had a long and distinguished career at companies and institutions including Data General, the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Advanced Micro Devices, and Sharp Microelectronics. Over the course of his career, he earned fourteen patents, forged enduring friendships, and became a proud lifetime member of the IEEE.
Steven’s career took the family across the country and back. In the late 1970’s the family moved to California where he took a job at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, collaborating with engineers and physicists in pursuit of scientific exploration. In the mid-1980’s, the family moved to the South Bay as Steven moved into industry and participated fully in the technological revolution that was beginning in the Silicon Valley. From there, the family moved to the Pacific Northwest which was just becoming a technological hub at the time. He traveled widely for work and has friends all over the world. His final job brought him back to the Northeast, where he and Brenda settled in Scarborough, Maine and Steven enjoyed a long retirement.
Steven loved classical music and had an encyclopedic knowledge of opera. He was an avid collector of radios and fountain pens. Steven was an early adopter of many technologies and his personal collection reflected the history of computing for the past 50 years. Steven was a lifelong photographer in both analog and digital formats, creating a rich photo archive documenting his life with his family.
Funeral services will be held at the chapel at Maple Hill Cemetery, 1 Sabino Farm Road, Peabody on Friday, December 13 at 11 AM. Donations in Steven’s memory may be made to the National Yiddish Book Center, 1021 West St., Amherst, MA 01002.