Julia Florence Haidlen

Julia Florence Haidlen went home to heaven at age 79 on Nov. 20, 2024, when a stroke took her life while playing in a weekly bridge game with her good friends.

Julia was born to Lorenza and Carmella Dutton on June 13, 1945, in Gustine and grew up in Riverbank. She graduated from Oakdale High School in 1963 and married her high school sweetheart, Tom Haidlen, on Oct. 15, 1967.

The vivacious, energetic Jules, as she was known to her friends, helped with accounting duties at Haidlen Ford and Super Junior Grocery Store before opening J. Haidlen Design Associates in the late 1980s. She was a self-taught interior designer who had an uncanny eye for detail, colors, furniture and space in both commercial and residential projects. Her daughter, Gretchen, later joined her in their business, while her son, Erich Haidlen, joined his father in the family's Ford franchise.

Julia worked on behalf of many organizations, and was involved in bringing the American Cancer Society to Oakdale in 1973. She also was in charge of fundraisers for the Oakdale Museum and was a founding member and on the board of the Oakdale Educational Foundation.

Always welcoming as she hosted family and friends in her home, Julia was named Citizen of the Year by the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce in 2011, and she volunteered many hours to her church and multiple other agencies and charities.

Her many friends will remember Julia's contagious laughter, her generosity, and the way she always went out of her way to make everyone feel accepted and loved. But no one was more special to her than her own family.

Her four grandchildren loved cooking with her, especially the cioppino sauce for Christmas, and the way she often had them over to spend the night with her. They were her pride and joy, and she delighted in always attending their school functions and sporting events to support their interests.

Her family said they loved Julia's bubbly personality, how she always welcomed everyone with open arms, and how much she loved the Lord and her family. Julia was often heard to say, "The Lord has blessed me with a fabulous life with family and friends."

Julia is survived by her husband, Tom Haidlen, mother-in-law Beverly Haidlen, son Erich (Kelly) Haidlen, daughter Gretchen Haidlen (Brian) Arbini, grandsons Reichen, Baron and Kyler Haidlen and granddaughter Addelyn Arbini. She also is survived by her brothers Fred and Pete Dutton, sister Jane Dutton, and her brother-in-law and sister-in-law John and Sydney Arnett.

She was predeceased by her parents, her brother Lorenza Dutton, her sister, Loraine Hankins, her father-in-law Sidney Haidlen and brother-in-law Tim Haidlen.

A Funeral Mass honoring Julia Haidlen will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Oakdale on Dec. 6 at 10 a.m., with lunch immediately following at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club, and with a Celebration of Life beginning at 1:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that remembrances be made to the Oakdale Enrichment Society's Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Rink project, oakdale-enrichment-society-square.site; enrichoakdale.org.