Leonard Kenneth Dietrich, 14 Jul 1925 - 19 May 2015

DIETRICH, CALVERT, PUNKE, BLAKELY, STEVENSON, STOCKSTELL

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 6/5/2015 at 13:33:37

Leonard Dietrich, 89

Funeral service for Leonard K. Dietrich, 89, Williamsburg, formerly of Ladora, was held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 23, at Trinity United Church of Christ, rural Marengo. He died Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at Mercy Hospital, Iowa City.

The Rev. Tom Miller officiated at the service.

Burial was in Zion Cemetery, rural Ladora.

Memorials may be made to Iowa City Hospice.

Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, was in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

Leonard Kenneth Dietrich was born July 14, 1925, on the family farm in Lincoln Township, Iowa County, the son of Edward August Albert Dietrich and Mary Orpha Calvert Dietrich. He attended Iowa County schools and served for a time in the U.S. Army Air Force.

He married Thelma Marie Punke Sept. 10, 1946, in rural Marengo. The couple took over the task of running the family farm in Lincoln Township, which they worked for 60 years. He became an award-winning sales associate with Archer Oil for several years.

He had a great talent for creating tools and other items which filled a wide variety of needs on the farm. In 2006, the couple retired from the farm and moved to Williamsburg. He was a lifetime member of Trinity United Church of Christ.

The truest philosophy of Leonard and Thelma and their family can be found on a large wooden plaque made by a family friend: “There are no strangers here . . . only friends we haven’t met.”

He will be missed and was a blessing to all who knew him.

Dietrich will be deeply missed by his wife of 68 years, Thelma; three daughters, Lonnett (Frank) Dietrich Blakley, Riverside; Ica (Kenneth) Shaull, North Liberty, and Ellen (Kurt) Stevenson, Tiffin; two grandchildren, Nathan (Katie) Shaull, Bertram, and Matthew (Kimberly) Shaull, Hiawatha; a great-grandchild, Keagan Shaull; one brother, Donald Dietrich, Marengo, and many additional family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Richard and Gary, and one sister, Margery Stockstell.

Journal Tribune, 27 May 2015, pg 5
Gazette, 21 May 2015 [abbreviated]