Lydia Upshaw

Lydia A. Upshaw, at 104 years, passed away peacefully at the Heritage Health Care Center in Globe, Arizona October 13, 2015, with family and friends near. She had many friends and will be dearly missed. Immediately following the end of World War II at the age of 34, Lydia moved from her first home of Albuquerque, New Mexico to Globe/Miami with her husband Blake K. Upshaw and their newly born son, David in November, 1945. She was the daughter of German Immigrants, Wilhelm and Sophie Dolde, who originally settled in German Town, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania prior to 1900 then later moved to Albuquerque for her father’s health. She was born there on December, 1910. She left behind a large family of nine siblings, numerous friends, social organizations, Lutheran Church groups and positive memories to forge a new life in the mining communities. She was a devoted Lutheran and Christian; she was a founding member and consistent contributor to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church for over 65 years. She sang in the choir and taught Sunday school for nearly 30 years. Lydia was intelligent, engaging and social – she made friends easily; it didn’t matter about your religious persuasion or ethnicity if she liked you, you had her friendship for life. She had hundreds of friends all over the country and she has outlived most of them. Skilled at accounting and related duties; she worked for years at the Safeway Corporate Office in Albuquerque and at Kirtland Air force Base near Albuquerque during WW II. During a short residency in Los Angeles, California she was immediately hired by the Atlantic Richfield Oil Company during the time of the Pearl Harbor bombing because of her exceptional skills. In Globe she worked at Sears and Roebuck for 16 years and with Gila County Department of Motor Vehicles for over 12 years. She retired “early” at age 72 in 1982. She was a loving and supportive mother to her two sons, gave generously and consistently of her time and money to family, friends, church and community until she entered assisted living at 100 years old. Referred to by friends as “Lid” or “Liddy”, she will be fondly remembered and deeply respected by many Globe/Miami residents and others who had the pleasure of engaging with her. She is known by her neighbors, John and Jenille Sluyter, as their adopted grandmother. She loved both their young children as if they were her own grandchildren. She is famous for her chocolate chip tort and banana cream “gooey” pie - she shared and gifted them often. Later in life she confessed to liking good looking men and to her love of candy, especially Divinity. She mused “I feel a little closer to heaven when I’m eating Divinity”. Lydia helped the less fortunate by making numerous monetary contributions to many charitable programs, locally and nationally. And of growing older she says “The Golden years are more like cast iron and rusted to boot”. She is survived by her two sons David B. Upshaw, a retired educator in Tucson and Mark Upshaw, Planner/Architect for the City of Denver. Memorial Services will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 11:00 A.M. at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Country Club Manor, Miami, AZ