St. Petersburg Times
Obituary
"PIDACKS, ROBERT W., 70, of St. Pete Beach, died Sunday (March 28, 1999) at home. He came here in 1992 from his native Rumford, Maine, where he retired in 1991 as a manager of wood procurement after 41 years with Boise Cascade Paper Division. He retired as a master sergeant with the Army, having served during the Korean War, and was a member of American Legion Post 24 and VFW Post 1641, both of Rumford. He was a member of the Society of American Foresters, the Pass-a-Grille Beach Association and the Eagles. He earned a bachelor's degree in forestry from the University of Maine and was inducted into its Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. He competed with the 1952 U.S. Olympic Cross Country Ski Team and coached the Chisolm Junior Cross Country Ski Team and the Bill Koch League of the Eastern Ski Association. Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Ruth G.; a son, Robert S., Rumford; six daughters, Daphne A. Perkins, South Portland, Maine, Gretchen E. Diedrich, Tulsa, Okla., Heidi M. White, West Peru, Maine, and Karen M. Higley, Tanya L. Richard and Holly E. Sukhi, all of Raymond, Maine; a brother, Charles, Ashland, Mass.; a sister, Sophia Pidacks, Rumford; 14 grandchildren; and a great- granddaughter. Blount, Curry & Roel Funeral Homes & Cemeteries, Beach Chapel, St. Pete Beach."