Kestutis Antanas Sidabras

A remarkable man living a remarkable 99 years, Kestutis Antanas Sidabras of Highland, Indiana, passed away peacefully on July 29, 2025. He will continue living on in the hearts and minds of all who love him, and we’ll never run out of stories about the many lives he lived and the many adventures he experienced on all seven continents of the globe.
Kestutis was born on April 1, 1926, in Mazeikiai, Lithuania, the second of four children of Antanas and Cecilija Sidabras. His favorite childhood memories included helping his mom bake intricate Napoleon torte, spending summers goofing off with his cousins on his aunt and uncle’s farm, and living for a short while in Czechoslovakia, where his father, a Lithuanian army officer, was training. During World War II, Lithuania suffered under Nazi and Russian occupation.
When Kestutis was fourteen, his father was among a group of officers who “disappeared” after interrogation in Moscow; only decades later, after the Soviet Union was dissolved, did Kestutis learn that his father had been sent to Siberia and executed. At age eighteen, while Kestutis himself was training in a military academy in Marijampole, he and his fellow trainees were forced to evacuate; he never had a chance to say goodbye to his mother and siblings, Algimantas and Raminta. After the war ended, Kestutis lived for three years in a refugee camp in West Germany’s American Zone, studying architecture at the UNRRA University in Munich and working as a laborer in the American Labor Service. In 1949, he sailed to America and joined thousands of immigrants working in the steel mills of East Chicago, Indiana.
In the summer of 1950, Kestutis was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army in Korea. Though he barely spoke English, the skills he had gained operating heavy machinery landed him in the Second Engineer Battalion with the assignment of operating a bulldozer to widen roads for Army trucks. After 21 months of serving his new country, he returned to Indiana and attended Purdue University Lafayette through the GI Bill, graduating in 3½ years with a structural engineering degree.
In 1955 he married Erika Franckeviciute, whom he met through mutual friends, at St. Francis Catholic Church in East Chicago. They lived in Hammond, where their son Viktoras and daughter Dalia were born, and moved to Munster in 1966. Kestutis worked in downtown Chicago, and in 1970 he was promoted to Chief Structural Engineer of Allen & Garcia Co. Called “Sid” by his colleagues, he traveled throughout the country and to Canada on business, often for coal mining projects. In addition, he served as President of the Lithuanian association Tautininkai. In his leisure hours, he battled coworkers in chess, collected American and Lithuanian stamps and coins, played billiards and Risk with his family, danced at parties with family and friends, and enjoyed summer picnics in Union Pier, Michigan.

Tutis and Dusia (the couple’s nicknames) traveled to the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and outside the country just twice, to Italy and to Puerto Vallarta, but their anecdotes, especially about the donkey cart ride, entertained their family for years.
With both children grown, Tutis continued working and tending to Dusia, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. They welcomed Dalia’s husband Antoine into the family and over the years rejoiced over the birth of three grandchildren, Antoine, Alex, and Andrea. In 1993, when Dalia’s family moved across the country, family visits decreased, and Tutis was caring for Dusia nearly single-handedly, even as her disease progressed. Supporting her until the very end, he was beside her when she passed away in 1998.
Inspired by a scholarship award that Erika had won for her essay about what freedom meant to her, Kestutis and Viktoras came up with the idea to honor her memory through a writing contest for Lithuanian students. The annual competition was arranged through the Vydunas Youth Fund, with Kestutis taking on the new task of reading hundreds of essays to select prizewinners.
In 1999, through a mutual friend, Kestutis met Dr. Ruta Kairyte, and after some unusual dates, such as inspecting Chicago’s “Cows on Parade,” they were married late that year. Beginning a new chapter in his life, Kestutis was soon chuckling that his retirement years were keeping him busier than his professional life. With Ruta, Kestutis fulfilled his lifelong wish to see even more of the world: their travels took them from the Wild West to the Far East, from Alaska to Australia to Antarctica. They arranged their trips to coincide with Ruta’s breaks at South Suburban College, where she taught Health and Wellness and served as an instructor in the Fitness Center. On cruises, they constantly outdid the competition on the dance floor and won
numerous awards in ping-pong and shuffleboard. Among their most meaningful trips were to Lithuania, where Kestutis not only reunited with his brother and sister and met their families but also met Ruta’s family. In addition, Kestutis and Ruta met and presented monetary gifts to the students who had won the Vydunas Youth Fund writing contest established in Erika’s memory.
When Ruta joined McColly Real Estate and found her clientele growing, Kestutis stepped in as her unofficial administrative assistant, channeling his engineering precision into bookkeeping and scheduling. As if they had time to spare, Kestutis also served as secretary of the Lithuanian American Community, East Chicago Chapter, and Ruta became President of the Beverly Shores Lithuanian Club. Although they moved to Highland in 2018, they strongly embraced the Beverly Shores community, attending mass at St. Ann of the Dunes Church and launching the Darius and Girenas Memorial Project, completing it with the majestic Lituanica Park entrance sign.

In 2015 “Tete” and Ruta traveled to Chico, California, for the wedding of their eldest grandchild, Antoine, and his bride, Ashley. Once the young couple started raising a family, “Tete”—now in his nineties--experienced the blessing of playing with his two great-grandsons, Nathaniel and Dominic.
Kestutis and Ruta’s busy social life included evenings of serious Rummikub gameplay with their friends, and their obsession spread to the entire family, including their grandchildren. At age 99, Kestutis could still occasionally beat Ruta—and that was no easy feat! Despite a few health challenges in his senior years, Kestutis lived life more fully than most men half his age. Not only was he constantly on the go with Ruta, whether journeying across the world or attending musicals at the Performing Arts Center right down Ridge Road, but he also stayed mentally sharp, astounding his family and friends with his ability to recite all 84 lines of the classic Lithuanian poem “Jurate ir Kastytis,” which he’d learned in his youth. He still sang songs that he had learned over the nearly century of his life—in ten languages! Only in his last year did his health decline rapidly, and Ruta patiently and tenderly cared for him, with assistance from steadfast RN Karly. Ready to rest, Kestutis closed his crystal-blue eyes and took his last breath with Ruta beside him, holding his hand.
Friends and family will remember this six-foot-four literal giant of a man—Kestutis, Sid, Tutis, and Tete—for many reasons and in many ways. We welcome you to share your memories at the visitation, which will be held on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with a funeral service at 7:30 p.m. at Hillside Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 8941 Kleinman Road (one block south of Ridge Road), Highland, IN 46322.
For additional information, please contact Konnie Kuiper or Michael Kuiper-Vass by calling 219-838-0800 or visiting us at www.hillsidefhcares.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kestutis Antanas Sidabras, please visit our floral store.