Iris Rae McClellan Tiedt

1928 - 2015

Iris Rae McClellan Tiedt
Resident of Forestville
Iris Rae McClellan Tiedt was born in Dayton Ohio to Raymond Hill and Ermalene Swartzel McClellan on February 3rd, 1928. She died September 26th, 2015 aged 87 years old after an eventful life. She and her four siblings, Alan, Marion, Jean and Nancy grew up in Symmes Corner outside Cincinnati. Her lifelong love of flowers and gardens came from walks with her father in the countryside. She met and married Sidney Willis Tiedt '49 and graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston with an elementary teaching degree. After teaching in Chicago they moved to Alaska in '52, teaching in Kenai and fishing for salmon in the summer. Pamela Lynn Tiedt was born in 1952 in Chicago as they had returned briefly to care for Sid's mother. They went back to Alaska where they taught in Anchorage, and where Ryan Sidney Tiedt Collay was born in '57. They made many lifelong friends that included Anna and Leonard Helton, and their children Laura Perry and Valarie Sanford.
They moved to Eugene Oregon in '59 to attend the University of Oregon where they both completed graduate degrees, hers in interdisciplinary studies that included the three areas of Spanish, library science and education, his a Doctorate in Education. In '61 the family moved to San Jose California buying an Eichler in the Fairglen area of Willow Glen. Sid taught at San Jose State College, later University. After a few years of writing and raising her children, she was awarded a scholarship from the AAUW to attend Stanford University as a pioneer as she was one of the first women to return to college after raising a family, and earned her PhD in Education '72. She was a professor and director of Teacher Education at the University of Santa Clara, pursuing her interests in elementary education and language arts. This passion for all forms of language and communication continued throughout her career that included numerous influential publications. She coauthored the "Complete Ideas Handbook for Elementary School Teachers" in 1965 with Sid Tiedt. She was the director of the South Bay Writing project at San Jose State University and in '75 wrote the "The Language Arts Handbook". She and daughter Pam wrote "Multicultural Teaching" in '79, currently in its seventh edition. To continue her professional growth she returned to her hometown of Cincinnati as Chair of Education at Northern Kentucky University, and became the Dean of the College of Education at Moorhead State University in Minnesota.
In '94 she retired and returned to California, the year her grandson Daniel Ryan Collay was born in Eugene to Joanne Dubrow and Ryan Collay. In '05 she married John Allan and they lived in Petaluma, where she became a Master Gardener, till a decline in health required that she live out the rest of her life with the wonderful folks at Mirabel Lodge in Forestville. Her husband preceded her in death. We will miss her, particularly her laugh and her smile. Her passions included libraries, strong liberal woman, and as life long member of the Sierra Club the out-of-doors. Please remember her with a gift to the charity of your choice. A memorial service will be held later.


View the online memorial for Iris Rae McClellan Tiedt