Sweet Loretta Martin, get back to where you once belong, sang John Lennon. And, alas, it has come to pass. Sweet Loretta, age 93, is back with the Stidolph family where she once belonged.
Born Loretta Cathreen Stidolph on Nov. 1, 1927, she joined five brothers, Bob, Art, Dennis Frank and Lawrence, at the family home near Whitewater, Mont. Her parents, Edward A. and Elizabeth C. (Ziehl) Stidolph went on to have a seventh child, son Fredrick, born Feb. 2, 1931. But, sorrowfully, just three weeks later Elizabeth passed from tuberculosis with Freddy joining her at seven weeks old.
Despite having suffered this tragic loss, Ted raised her with the help of her five older brothers until the age of eight when he decided Loretta needed a woman’s touch. She was sent to live with Fred and Nettie Kroeger in the University District of Seattle, Wash. Living in an apartment overlooking a lift bridge allowing ships to pass through, Loretta recalled picking string beans on the outskirts of Seattle for work as a teenager. She attended Lincoln High School until she returned to her father’s care in her late teens.
After attending beauty college in North Dakota, she came to Wolf Point, meeting and marrying Gene Martin April 17, 1948, at the Trinity Lutheran Church. Their business partnership, The Wolf Point Saddlery, ran from 1948 through 2004. Four children resulted from this union, Joanne, Allen, Larry and Randy. All of whom survive today. She is survived by eight grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. She was the last surviving child of Ted and Elizabeth Stidolph, having been preceded in death by her parents, six brothers and husband, Gene.
A viewing will be held Friday, Aug. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel, 102 Custer St., Wolf Point, Mont. Services will be Saturday, Aug. 7, at 1 p.m., also at the chapel with interment at Greenwood Cemetery to follow. A reception will follow graveside services at the First Presbyterian Church, 400 Custer St., Wolf Point.
Condolences for the family may be left using the form below.