Kenneth Tidyman Obituary, Kenneth Tidyman Has Passed Away – Death Cause

Kenneth Tidyman Obituary, Death – After a long and courageous battle with cancer, Kenneth Andrew Tidyman, 69 years old, passed away on May 19, 2023 with his family at his side. On October 6, 1953, he was born in McCook, Nebraska, to parents named Oscar and Helen (Evans) Tidyman. He was the eighth child overall, and the family lived in a four-room house in the northeastern part of Hayes County as he was growing up. Kenneth received his secondary education at Hayes Center High School. He participated in the establishment of the Hayes Center FFA Chapter program as a Charter Member, where he held the position of Reporter.

After school, Kenneth worked for his uncle Lawrence Walker. Kenneth relocated to Tryon, Nebraska, after graduating from high school, and it was there that he first encountered Jerri Jean Shimmon. The couple tied the knot on May 14, 1978, and one year later, on February 17, 1980, Kent Dwayne Tidyman was brought into the world. Jerri, Kent, and Helen were traveling to town on the Maywood-Hayes Center Road on April 20, 1982, when another car collided with their pickup truck and caused it to flip over. Jerri and Helen were both killed in the accident, and Kent was the only person to get away unscathed.

In a private ceremony attended only by close family and friends, Kenneth wed Mary Ellen Etl-Bloom on April 27, 1985, in Ringgold, Nebraska. Kenneth raised Mary’s two stepchildren, Jennifer Bledsoe and Rob Bloom, as his own. Jennifer and Rob were Mary’s children from previous marriages. After being married and having a blended family, the couple decided to relocate everyone to the Tidyman ranch in Maywood, Nebraska. Kelly Evan Tidyman was born into the family on August 19, 1986, bringing the total number of members to six.

At the end of November 1987, Kenneth began working for Kenneth and Virginia Meyer in Wellfleet, Nebraska, as a Ranch Forman. Kenneth and Virginia Meyer were Kenneth’s parents. Even after Virginia passed away in February of 2015, Kenneth would continue in his role as foreman. He kept working for Kelly and Rick Sexton, Virginia’s daughter and son-in-law, until he was no longer able to do so in February of 2023. The ranch was eventually sold to Kelly and Rick Sexton, Virginia’s daughter and son-in-law.

Kenneth was a character that had a million one-liners and words of cowboy “wisdom.” He enjoyed getting a rise out of people and making them laugh, and he had a lot of cowboy “wisdom” to share. He was usually the first to provide a helping hand and would frequently tell people, “If I knew how much fun grandkids were, I would have had them first.” He was a man who put family first in all aspects of his life. His first of the month phone calls, which always began with his now-iconic greeting, “I haven’t heard from you all month!”, will be much missed by everyone. This obituary contains incorrect information about Kenneth’s age; he has insisted that he is “nineteen” since the year 1972.