Anne K. Sidenius

Anne K. Sidenius, 99, a 52-year resident of Sandy Hook, died July 31 during a brief stay at the Glen Hill Healthcare facility, Danbury.

She was the wife of W. Christian Sidenius.

Born June 1, 1905, in the Netherlands, she did (anti-Nazi) underground work there for several years before coming to the United States in 1940. In the 1960s she was administrative assistant to Newtown’s first selectman for six years, and helped her husband Chris Sidenius turn a “bare-bones” concrete building off Route 25 in Newtown into the Town Players’ Little Theatre (at their own expense).

From 1964 to 1984 she tirelessly assisted Chris in the operation of LUMIA, the Theatre of Light that received national attention and featured performances of various sequences of abstract images projected onto a large screen, accompanied by a wide range of music.

She led an interesting life and was an affectionate, humorous, generous wife, mother, and grandmother. Her family and friends will miss her.

She leaves her husband; one daughter, Olga van der Veen of Sandy Hook; grandson Michael Zeerip and his wife Elizabeth of Brookfield; granddaughter Kim Robison and her husband David of Burlington, Vt.; and three great-grandchildren, Danika Robison, 16, Harlan Zeerip, 10, and Sara Zeerip, 7.

All services are private.

Memorial contributions may be made to the National Resources Defense Council, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.

The Newtown Bee        August 6, 2003