Sidney M. Oman
CHESAPEAKE—Sidney M. Oman, 81, of Chesapeake and formerly of Franklin, died April 27, 2009, surrounded by his family and friends.
Born in Trenton, N.J., he was the son of the late John Brady and Martha Smith Oman and was also predeceased by a brother, Dr. John B. Oman.
Mr. Oman was a Marine Corps veteran of World War II and a member of Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Chesapeake, where he formerly served as vice chairman of the administrative board, chairman of the Building Committee, and a Sunday School teacher. Mr. Oman was co-owner, along with his son, of Oman Funeral Homes in Chesapeake.
In the 1970s, he lived in Franklin and worked for Holland Funeral Home.
He later served three terms as mayor of Chesapeake and one term as mayor of Elizabeth City, N.C.
The Sidney M. Oman Cancer Treatment Center at Chesapeake General Hospital was named for him in 1998.
He served as president of both the Virginia Funeral Directors Association and the Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.
He served as a board member and former president of the Chesapeake Care Free Clinic and the Board of Advisors for the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation and formerly served on the boards of Tidewater Community College, Monarch Bank, Bank of Tidewater and Chesapeake General Hospital, Chesapeake and Elizabeth City Cosmopolitan Club, Rotary Club, to name a few.
As a civic-minded person at heart, he cherished the title “Mr. Chesapeake.”
His love for Chesapeake and Elizabeth City was only superseded by his love in general for all people.
His many civic memberships and appointments in Chesapeake and Elizabeth City are too numerous to list. Some of his many honors include the 1968 First Citizen of Tidewater; 1969 First Citizen of Chesapeake; 1987 Norfolk State University’s Presidential Citation; 1991 Elizabeth City’s First Citizen Award; 1998-99 Virginian-Pilot Readers Choice Award for the Best Known Citizen and Citizen Who has Contributed the Most to the City.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Lillian Callis Oman; his son, Robert M. “Bob” Oman and wife Cindy and his daughter, Susan Lynn Oman, all of Chesapeake.
The funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday in Great Bridge Baptist Church, 640 S. Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake, VA 23322.
The Revs. Randy McMillen, Tom Mercer and Charles Moseley will officiate. Interment will follow in Chesapeake Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 6 to 9 p.m. today in the Great Bridge Chapel of Oman Funeral Home & Crematory, 653 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322.
Flowers are welcomed.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sidney M. Oman Cancer Treatment Center, c/o Chesapeake General Hospital, 736 N. Battlefield Boulevard, Chesapeake, VA 23320, the Chesapeake Care Free Clinic, 2145 S. Military Highway, Chesapeake, VA 23320, or to the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation, 118 Battlefield Boulevard, Chesapeake, VA 23320.