Nida Middleton

It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Nida Mae Clodfelter Middleton on Nov. 1, 2019 in Orem, Utah at the age of 94. Nida was born Oct. 24, 1925 in Spokane, Washington to Benjamin Watson and Amelia Augusta (Seeba) Clodfelter. The youngest child in her family, Nida attended Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane. As a youth, she loved to sing in the school choir, ride the trolley with her brother and skate at the local roller rink where she met Corporal Delbert M. Clair, when he was stationed nearby.  Amid WWII, Nida married Delbert Melvin Clair on Dec. 31, 1942 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, then soon moved to Texas where her only child, a daughter, Nidel, was born. Nida and Delbert later moved to northern California, where Nida spent most of her years. She loved life in the Bay Area as a dance teacher, a supervisor in the electronics industry, a community volunteer, a mother, and a grandmother. Nida married her second husband, Eldon Craig Middleton on Mar. 23, 1957.

Nida is predeceased by her parents, her brothers Ralph Henry, John “Jack” Milo, Paul Donald Clodfelter, and her former spouses.

The long-time matriarch of the family, Nida is lovingly remembered and survived by her daughter, Nidel Elizabeth Day and her “favorite son-in-law”, Harry Day of Linden, UT, her three grandchildren, Richard Engel (Teresa) of Ben Lomond, CA, Lisa Elzey (Kevin) of Cedar Hills, UT, and Krista Christian (Spencer) of American Fork, UT; her eight great-grandchildren: Kaitlyn, Trevor, Zack, Luke, Madeline, Mason, Abigail, and Brooklyn, and her sister-in-law, Betty Clodfelter.

Nida was the classiest of ladies and the ultimate party-planner with amazing attention to detail and a love of gathering friends and family – a talent manifested throughout her life. Nida was an artist herself and created masterful handmade pieces of needlepoint, cross stitch, and clothing which her family still treasures. She could sew anything! She was a football fan, a lover of great music (which usually included Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman), great cuisine, and a good laugh, especially when reading the Sunday “funnies” including her favorite comic strip, Peanuts by Charles Schultz. A strong woman, a devoted friend, a doting grandmother, and the best mom, Nida will be sorely missed. We will forever set our beautiful Christmas tables in her memory and keep the fancy hors d'oeuvres ready for when we meet again.

A viewing will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Wed., Nov. 13 at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, 495 S. State Street, Orem, Utah. Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Fri., Nov. 29 at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary. Burial will be at Eastlawn Memorial Hills Cemetery. Condolences may be expressed to the family at SundbergOlpinMortuary.com.