Harlan R. Sandidge, 83 -- artist, inventor, educator, father, brother, uncle, friend -- made his transition to a new way of life on Sunday, July 24, 2016, surrounded by family and friends in Fort Worth, Texas. Harlan R. Sandidge was born January 21, 1933, in Fort Worth, Texas, son of late Othel William and Oda Mae Sandidge.  In his early years, he lived on the North Side, not far from the stockyards and baseball diamond, where he and his brothers played as young boys.  His family later moved to Haltom City where he attended school. After completing high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force.

Stationed at Thule AFB, Greenland, he served as a Ground Radio and Technical Instruments Operator.

He completed his term of service, receiving an honorable discharge on May 7, 1958, at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, and then returned to Fort Worth, Texas, and was accepted at Texas Wesleyan College, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art Education. 

While attending Texas Wesleyan College, he met his future wife and artist, Ruth Anne Blazer. They became known as the “artist couple” on campus. After earning his B.S. / Art, Harlan enrolled in the graduate program at Georgia Tech, and later finished his M.S.T. / Education at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in the mid-70’s. Throughout the years as an educator, he taught art in public schools at Big Spring, Texas; at Howards Grove and Rosendale-Brandon school districts in, Wisconsin; at Tarrant County Junior College, Fort Worth. He received many first place awards for his art in gallery and festival exhibits and placement and reviews in several prestigious art magazine publications.

After his teaching career, he drafted 3D illustrations for the USGS in Fort Worth, and then turned his focus on music, composing hundreds of songs, performing in numerous musicals and several operas, as well as volunteering his time as a church soloist for First Jefferson Unitarian Church, Fort Worth.  In his final years, he pursued his dream of being an inventor to patent an idea that drew upon his visual and technical imagination to create a hologram like video representation, which he apparently even felt could be expanded into a “beam-me-up” trans-substantiation machine like the one on the Enterprise.

Harlan was preceded in death by his father, Othel W. Sandidge, in November of 1986, his mother, Oda Mae Sandidge, in January of 1989, his former wife and mother, Ruth Anne Sandidge in May of 2009, and numerous uncles and aunts on both sides of his family.  Survivors:  daughter, Victoria L. Hammill and husband, Edward T. Hammill of Round Rock; son Aaron R. Sandidge of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; brothers, Charles C. Sandidge of Port O’Connor, Texas, and Benjamin Sandidge of Göttingen, Germany; 21 nieces and nephews, 24 grand nieces and nephews, great grand nieces and nephews, his dog, Max, a faithful friend and companion to the end; his cat, “Kitty”, and loving and caring friends from the Summit Oaks Community where he lived for nearly 26 years, as well as many other good friends made throughout his lifetime.

University of Texas Southwest Medical Center accepted his body into the Willed Body Donor program for medical training, and in celebration of his life, a memorial service was held on Saturday, August 6, 2016, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, at the Handley United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 2929 Forest Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas, with Reverend Sally Fleming officiating and Potluck to following.

On Friday, October 7, 2016, a veterans military flag folding ceremony with the performance of "Taps" was held in his honor, and his cremains buried at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery, Dallas, Texas.