D. Vance Kidwell, 94, of rural Donnellson died at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012 at his home.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Donnell-Wiegand Funeral Home in Greenville. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the funeral home.
Interment will follow at Tower Hill Cemetery in Tower Hill with military honors conducted.
Mr. Kidwell was born in Ohlman on Feb. 25, 1918, the son of the late Harry Alonzo and Clara Grace (Baxter) Kidwell. He married Marian J. Huffer in Oak Park on Dec. 17, 1941, and she survives.
In his youth, he attended nine different schools and graduated from Tower Hill High School in 1935. He played minor league baseball in his late teens in the Cincinnati Reds Organization, and once competed against the New York Yankees in a spring training exhibition game in 1937.
Mr. Kidwell worked in Chicago for the Miller Wrapping and Sealing Machine Company in the engineering department from 1939 to 1953. He joined the United States Army at Camp Grant on Feb. 3, 1942. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant and was in many battles, including the Battle of the Bulge, Ardennes, Rhineland, Central Europe, Algeria, French Moroccan, Sicilian, Normandy and Northern France.
Mr. Kidwell was in the first American Division to go into Berlin, and was awarded several medals, including the distinguished unit badge, good conduct ribbon, European African Middle Eastern Theater ribbon with one silver and two bronze battle stars, and five overseas service bars. He was honorably discharged on July 8, 1945 at Fort Sheridan.
After returning from overseas, he and his wife returned to Chicago. In 1953, they purchased a farm in Bond County, where he farmed until 1982. He was a fine wood working carpenter and draftsman, and in his cabinet shop he worked over 27,000 hours designing over 800 houses located in 60 towns in four states. He made many wonderful keepsakes in his cabinet shop, many from the walnut in his shop. He was also a member of the V.F.W. Post 1377 of Greenville.
In addition to his wife of over 70 years, Mr. Kidwell is survived by a son, David A. (wife Deborah) Kidwell of Charleston; and two grandchildren, Lauren of Chicago and Brian of Fairfax, VA.
Memorials may be directed to the Reno-Bethel Presbyterian Church or the Simple Room.
