Marie-Christine Lea Tidwell

Christine Escartin Tidwell, born in Marseille, France, died on March 28, 2026, in Fort Myers, FL. She moved to Cape Coral, FL to be closer to her children having formally lived in Woodbridge, VA. Mrs. Tidwell retired from the federal government in 2005 where she worked as an Administrative Officer at the U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center, now the U.S. Army Geospatial Center in Alexandria, VA. She previously worked as a translator and interpreter for the U.S. Marine Corps in Quantico, VA. She was also a long time member of the Lions Club in Lakeridge, VA.

Mrs. Tidwell was a dedicated civil servant for 30 years and received numerous awards including the Directors Award for Administrative and Technical Support; Dedicated Service to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Support of Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm; Department of Defense for Joint Precision Strike Demonstration Task Force.

She was preceded in death by her twin daughters, Stephanie Lucenda and Jennifer Suzanne. She is survived by three daughters, Audrey Klimovitz, husband Michael of Delaware, Teresa Tate-Hopgood, husband George of Cape Coral, FL, and Valerie DiVecchio, husband Joe of Tampa, FL. She was the beloved grandmother of Dominic DiVecchio, Christopher and Mikaela Klimovitz. She was the sister of Andree Mattheis of Naples, FL, Katia DeJarnette of Ashland, VA, and Antonia de Coninck of Nice, France. She is also survived by her loving godson Edmund Tompkins DeJarnette III, as well as several nieces and nephews.

A funeral mass will be held on April 6, 2026, at 11:00am at Saint Katharine Drexel Parish in Cape Coral. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Attn: Membership Department, 6 Herndon Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403 or to a charity of your choice.