Sid Nesbit

1938 - 2023

Sid Nesbit
July 27, 1938 - February 18, 2023
Bellingham, Washington - Sid H Nesbit died peacefully at home on February 18, 2023. Sid lived a full adventurous life filled with friendships, family, artistic creativity and travel. He was born to Jim and Florence Harrison Nesbit in Seattle on July 27, 1938. Along with his younger brother, David, the family also lived in Spokane, Walla Walla, WA and San Bernardino, Riverside and Berkeley CA. Summers were spent at Camp Orkila on Orcas Island as a teenager. He became a counselor and his son and grandchildren followed in his footsteps. Sid went to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo where his life as an amazing architect began. At only 24, he designed many unique homes overlooking Laguna Beach using lumber from railroad trestles he purchased. Those creations still inspire great design. Sid moved to Bellingham in 1963 where he soon designed some of the Northwest's most beautiful timeless homes, resorts, and numerous commercial buildings. His design work took him to Hawaii, Alaska, Wyoming, and even back to California. To live in a Sid Nesbit home remains an honor. Sid moved his family to Hawaii in the early 70's where he used his design and building skills to develop Kauai Kailani, Mokihana Lodge, and the Bull Shed restaurant on the island of Kauai. This venture led him to designing the infamous Cliff House restaurant in Bellingham. In addition to being an architect, he was a skilled carpenter, builder, and contractor. He generously gave his time and knowledge to all and especially to various community projects. He was a passionate advocate of the environment and incorporated his love of the surroundings and natural light in all of his designs. He was recently given the distinction by Whatcom County Planning Department of being the last architect to receive a building permit for a complete set of hand drawn plans. If you have a set, frame it and cherish it. Sid enjoyed his cars, but loved his Saabs the most. Early on, he would pack his family into his Jaguar XKE for weekly night skiing at Pilchuck and Grouse Mountains. They skied powder slopes wherever they could and even skied mountains in Europe. He was an accomplished sailor both cruising and racing in the Northwest and Hawaii. He added pilot to his accolades and thrilled us all with many flying adventures. More than anything, Sid loved roaming the Western States and Canada on his Triumph Motorcycle with his best traveling buddies, Leslie, his sons and Peter Dyck. Other notable adventures included driving his Kawasaki motorcycle over 4000 miles to Wisconsin with Leslie on the back, where together they enjoyed the world famous Oshkosh Air Show. He piloted his 1950's era two- seater Aeronca Champ float plane from Juneau AK to Bellingham WA, again with Leslie, where they spent a lonely night on a quiet beach with just one sleeping bag, a tuna fish sandwich and a small hand gun to be used for protection from the bears. It's a damn good thing the bears were not active that night. And it's too bad they didn't land sooner that evening as when the sun came up the next morning, they were just yards away from a friend's cabin. Sid leaves behind his wife of 50 years, his brother, his sons, grandchildren, and extended family, all who adored him. Cats are sad, seagulls are hungry and the Saab is for Sale! We all love you Sid, you will be missed! A celebration of his life will be held April 30, at the NSEA campus.