Gwendolynn D. Middleton

Gwendolynn D. (Lidstrom) Middleton, 70, passed away early in the morning on Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at Iowa Methodist Hospital. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley R. Davis, Gwendolynn was born May 25, 1939, at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar, Mn.

Gwendolynn grew up in cities and towns throughout northern Minnesota and moved to Rochester with her parents where she attended Rochester Senior High School and actively participated in the drama club and various other activities. She married David Carl Lidstrom on August 21, 1959. She attended Luther College where she was a member of the Senior Honor Society and earned her Degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1961. Gwen taught English and Speech for Minnesota and Iowa Schools. Gwendolynn and David welcomed their first son, Erik David on February 20th, 1963, their second son, Christiaan Stanley on May 14, 1968, and their only daughter, Sara Lynn on April 7, 1970.

Gwendolynn left teaching and continued her career in communications and editing where she worked for local up and coming companies in the Des Moines, Iowa area. She had a strong desire to publish her own book someday. Gwendolynn was a recognized member of the Iowa Chapter Cystic Fibrosis Foundation from 1981 to 1989.

Gwendolynn will always be remembered by her family and friends as a strong and powerful woman who believed in equality for all women, and was never afraid to admit or defend that belief. She enjoyed watching NFL Football when the Minnesota Vikings were playing. Her favorite movie of all time was the Wizard of Oz and she was a die hard Neil Diamond fan. She was a dedicated Christian and a member of Highland Park Christian Church.

Gwendolynn will be deeply missed and forever loved by her sons and their wives; Erik Lidstrom (Dedrie) and Christiaan Lidstrom (Kelly), and her daughter Sara L. Sale, and all of her grandchildren; Brittainy, Nathaniel, Collin, Spencer, Maxwell, and Rylee, her mother Edith Davis, sister, Heather Tarara, nephews Andrew and Benjamin, and their families, and her ex husband David Carl Lidstrom.

She was preceded in death by her father, Stanley R. Davis.

A memorial service will be held 1:00 p.m., Saturday, November 14, 2009, at Hamilton's near Highland Memory Gardens, 121 NW 60th Ave., Des Moines, Iowa. A visitation with the family present will be from 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be directed to the family in loving memory of Gwendolynn.

www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

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