Brenda L. Saidel, age 69, of Gouverneur, passed away on December 31, 2020 at the Canton-Potsdam Hospital.
Visitation was at French Funeral Home in Gouverneur on Monday, January 4, 2021 from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. All were requested to please wear a mask and practice social distancing. Her graveside service was on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in the Anshe Zophen Cemetery in Ogdensburg. Condolences may be shared online at www.frenchfuneralhomes.com. Donations in memory of Brenda may be made to Ryan’s Wish Foundation, PO Box 326, Gouverneur NY 13642.
Brenda was born on April 6, 1951 in Ogdensburg to the late James Raymond Smith and Marjorie I. (Elliott) Smith. She was in the Class of 1969 at Knox Memorial High School and married H. Michael Saidel on December 31, 1974.
Mrs. Saidel had worked at Jumbo’s Diner and Penguin Lanes before helping her husband operate several businesses, including Market Lanes in Potsdam, Saidel’s Gas and Grocery in Potsdam, Mike’s Trophies in Potsdam, and Awards North in North Carolina. She had also worked for Micheline Tire in North Carolina and most recently as Deputy Clerk for the Town of Gouverneur.
Brenda loved to read and spend time with her family. She enjoyed her flowers if she could get them to grow and to be by the water as long as it didn’t touch her hair. She and Mike also bowled in younger days. Brenda was the anchor of her family and extended family. She cared deeply about others, even making sure her roommates in the hospital were taken care of.
Her survivors include her husband, H. Michael Saidel and his family, four children, Marta Whiteford and her husband, Frank Lee, Melissa Fone and her husband, Randy, Douglas Whiteford, Jr. and his wife, Mary Kay, Anthony Saidel and his wife, Jeanne, sisters, Rosemary Smith, Cindy Scutt, Penny Stalker, and brothers, Ronald Smith, Kevin Smith, Brian Smith, Tracy Smith. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren with 2 more on the way, Aunts, Rita Chambers, Vivian Day and Ilona Elliott, Uncle Butch Smith, and many nieces and nephews.
She is predeceased by her parents, brothers, Raymond, James, and Jeffrey Smith, and a grandson, Nicholas Whiteford.