Beloved husband and father, and longtime Little Lake School principal, passed away peacefully Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, surrounded by his family. Born in Washington, D.C. May 22, 1922, he was the youngest son of Rubin and Lillian Acton.
His beloved wife, Jane, of 65 years, passed way in 2007. Sidney had 11 children: Penni, Jodi, Scott, Gayle, Kim, Shelley, Chris, Luana, Spunky, Jaime and Josh, as well as 27 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Sidney was Little Lake Elementary principal for over 25 years and retired in the mid-1970s. He was instrumental in starting the first baseball program in the valley back in 1954, serving as its president for many years. He was elected to the Hemet Youth Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. He worked many years with the Bill Gray Baseball School. Upon retirement, he counseled youth and their families at the Hemet Counseling Center. He and his wife lived in Idyllwild for many years and were grand marshals in their 2007 Fourth of July parade.
He was in the U.S. Navy and at the invasion of South France during World War II. After the war, he attended Salem College in West Virginia, received his BA from Whittier College and his MA in Speech Pathology at USC. He will be sorely missed by his family and many friends.
A memorial service is scheduled at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Hemet at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 30.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hemet Youth Baseball.