Charlene Ann Sidorski

Charlene Sidorski (nee Gunter). Fortified with the Sacraments of the Holy Mother Church on Jan. 8, 2021. . Beloved mother of Ellen (Jason) Mui of Chicago, IL and Curt (Lara) Sidorski; grandmother of Simon and Elliot Sidorski and Veronica Mui; sister of Judith (Crill) Brown; cousin and friend to many.

Charlene was born Oct. 22, 1942 in St. Louis, MO to Eleanor (nee Sikorski) and Charles Gunter. Charles was in service in World War II and the Korean War for long periods of Charlene’s childhood, which created extraordinarily strong relationships with her mother, her younger sister Judi, and a network of close extended family. She was a proud resident of South St. Louis City her entire life.

She graduated from Sophie Barat girls’ high school at 16. She worked after high school as a phone operator at Southwestern Bell and in 2014 retired from Family Care Health Centers after more than a decade of service as a medical records clerk and phone operator. She was a dedicated volunteer at her children’s schools where she served as a room mother, chaperone, and volunteer computer teacher. She held several officer positions for the St. Louis Police Wives’ Association, which she was an active member of during the 1980s and 90s. A lifelong Catholic, Charlene loyally attended and volunteered at Sts. Mary and Joseph Catholic Church, and continued service as a eucharistic minister after the parish merged with St. Stephen Protomartyr. After her retirement, she fulfilled a dream of becoming a volunteer and then an ambassador for the St. Louis Zoo, earning the Kudu Award for service.

Her greatest pride and joy were her children, Ellen and Curt, and her grandchildren, Simon, Elliot, and Veronica. She enthusiastically welcomed her daughter-in-law, Lara Heisohn-Sidorski, and son-in-law, Jason Mui, into this affection as well. She was quick to brag on her kids and grandkids, and always had pictures of them in her purse or on her phone ready to show. She retired when her first grandchild was born in order to help with childcare and from that point on was enthusiastic to drop everything to help out and spend time with her grandkids. She was an intuitive gift-giver and loved spoiling her kids of all ages with personalized gifts and stockings and Easter baskets full of knickknacks and treats.

She enjoyed learning new things her entire life and loved to travel. She traveled to conventions of the National Association of Letter Carriers, of which her mother was a long-serving officer for the ladies auxiliary, as far away as Hawaii with her mother and sister, and she was enthusiastic to hop in a plane or car for a family trip, equally happy whether headed to South Korea or to a festival an hour away. She was always ready to jump into social outings and loved get-togethers with friends from work, classes at the Y, and family gatherings with her children’s in-laws. She never met a stranger and could chat happily with anyone on any topic.

A memorial mass will be held on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, at 10:00 AM at Sts. Mary and Joseph Chapel, 6304 Minnesota Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111. Charlene’s life of service to others continued in her passing, through her wish to give an anatomical gift to St. Louis University. Her family plans to hold a celebration of her life outdoors over the summer, in keeping with Charlene’s attentiveness to COVID protocols. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.