Birdie was called and left us to be with God in Heaven on August 24, 2026. She came into the world on January 31, 1938 in Klamath Falls, OR, the second child of Jo Nettleton and Robert Leppert. Her older brother Bob predeceased her in 2018. While her parents didn’t remain together, she eventually inherited two more parents in Carroll Nettleton and Hilda Leppert. She loved each of her parents very much. As a young girl she lived in Gresham OR, and then spent her teen years in her beloved Bandon, OR. After her marriage, she moved with her husband to Georgia; Maryland; Beaverton, OR; Colorado Springs, CO; and finally to Albany, OR where she had contentedly lived since 1977.

Birdie is survived by and will live always in the heart of her loving husband of nearly 69 years, Gary Siewell, whom she met at fifteen at Bandon High School and loved from that time forward with a young girl’s passion. He always, as she often said, made her heart go “pitty-pat.” She is also survived by ten children who carry and pass on their parents’ gift of love: Mark Siewell with wife Lori, Teresa Spanos with husband George, Matthew Siewell with wife Rita, Kirstin Esterberg with husband Dennis, Michael Siewell with wife Glenda, Paul Siewell with wife Christie, David Siewell with wife Linda, Joseph Siewell, Gwen Le with husband Josh, and Amanda Siewell. Additionally, she is survived by a brother, Craig Leppert, as well as brother Mike Nettleton and sister Lana Curry, and her sister-in-law-and-love Maxine McFeron. She has sixteen grandchildren (Luke, Liz, Jenny, Stephen, Megan, Jessica, Annie, Jesse, Robert, Andrew, Natalie, Katie, Gary, Brian, Braden, and Thomas) and ten great grandchildren (Latané, Piper, Fox, Felix, Quin, Ella, Addison, Penelope, Emilia, and Jackson).

Losing Birdie burdens the heart, and yet gratitude finds room in the heart as well. Eighty-eight years, is a long, sweet gift of a life. Eighty-eight years in which a person experienced deep and mutual love with one person for over 70 years is very nearly a miraculous wonder—except that it required more of Gary and Birdie than mere acceptance. In their mid-teens, with wisdom beyond their years and a desire beyond their experience, they committed to intentionally live and love better. As Birdie would often tell her children, love was passion and joy, but it also required commitment and effort. Marriage, she maintained, was a work in progress, with an end result that made it all worthwhile and hence more beautiful. As part of that work, Gary and Birdie did argue, and some of those arguments were doozies! But their children learned that arguments ended in resolution, compromise, and a deeper understanding and respect (as well as a lot of icky smooching and dancing in the living room to Waylon!). Witnessing their love, one saw that two strong individuals could put love first and fully merge their lives without sacrificing their own minds, characters, and identities. In the end, she left this world with her true love’s hand in her own; her beautiful work on earth complete.

Birdie sparkled with spunk. She was a woman who knew her mind, wasn’t afraid to share her thoughts, advocate for her ideas, or champion her people. That spunk was sometimes terrifying (she could petrify you with a look) but much more often truly admirable and exceptional. In raising ten children, her spunk was absolutely indispensable! Letters she wrote in her youth reveal her dreams to have children (a dozen to be exact), and, while she didn’t quite make it to twelve, she did manage to raise ten. Motherhood was an achievement of which she was deservedly proud--despite the occasional sideways glances her meticulously clean, well-behaved brood garnered from passersby. They could not know the hours and work and energy and courage required to feed, clothe, soothe, support, guide, advise, discipline, and/or play with a large group of children, all of whom were different in character and age and temperament, and unable to coordinate their needs and problems to save her precious time! Furthermore, the early days of her motherhood were marked by financial hardship that required sacrifice which imposed even more worry and stress on an already cumbersome job. Yet, she didn’t indulge in self-pity, and one never heard her whine or bemoan her fate, even in retrospect. She consistently focused on her gratitude for simpler, more lasting joys: a husband’s love, a family’s ties and traditions, a dedication to God and the Church. She maintained until the end that her children brought her immeasurable and immense joy worth any amount of hardship. That is not to say she found her children cherubic at all times (she wasn’t delusional!); but her love survived the antics and misdeeds of children she faithfully believed were essentially good.

Birdie was a woman of great faith. Overwhelmed by what she described as the loving presence of God in a Catholic Church she visited in her youth, she was touched with a desire to learn more about Catholicism and grow her relationship with God. She, along with Gary and her children, were baptized into the Catholic Church in December 1962, and her religion and faith became a supportive foundation and guiding influence in her life. She strove to replicate the love of God in her relationships and to venerate God in her actions. In her early 40's, she was called to share her many blessings. She answered by foregoing leisure and travel and raising three more children. She humbly practiced, not merely professed, her faith, celebrating her loving relationship with God in all aspects of her life.

Birdie was a beautiful woman but was too humble to acknowledge that truth. She was talented artistically, with a wonderful eye for color and design, and loved to arrange flowers. Though she would sometimes raise her eyebrows or fake grimace, she glowed listening to the fun banter of her family. She was not a flatterer, she was going to call things as she saw them, yet she was kind and thoughtful. She was always generous with praise and encouragement, and her words had immense value because one knew they sincerely arose from her heart. Birthdays and holidays were always made special, in poor times as well as in more prosperous times, because she found so much joy in making them special for her family. She never forgot to send a card, even as she lie in the hospital, tired and in great pain. She loved the beauty of her own backyard and the beach where she and Gary enjoyed many romantic getaways.

Birdie never had social ambitions. She was not a butterfly flitting from here to there seeking outside recognition. She valued intimate connections. She was mamma Birdie, happiest nesting alongside her lifelong mate, watching over, sharing with, praying over her chicks, even after they were fledged with chicks of their own to whom she opened her wings and heart as well. Her earthly world was her family, her life was lived for them, and her worries and thoughts dwelled on them with loving constancy.

Ultimately, Birdie was a young girl with childhood dreams of husband and family. She possessed the love to light those dreams into life, and the strength to endure the challenges required to nurture and sustain them. She leaves a large living and loving testament of simple yet poignant dreams come true.

In Lieu of flowers, consider donating to Birdie's favorite charity: Missionaries of Charity Brothers, 1316 South Westlake Ave.  Los Angeles, CA 90006.