Thelma Marie (Punke) Dietrich, 20 Jun 1925 - 2 Oct 2019

DIETRICH, PUNKE, MERCER, BLAKLEY, STEVENSON, SHAULL, RENO, MILLER, HAMAN

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 10/10/2019 at 14:34:34

Thelma Marie Dietrich, 94, of Williamsburg, passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, at Mercy Hospital Hospice in Iowa City. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7, at Trinity United Church of Christ in rural Marengo with Pastor Tim Miller officiating. Burial will be in the Zion Cemetery in rural Ladora.

Visitation will be 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6, at Kloster Funeral Home in Marengo. A memorial fund has been established.

Thelma is survived by her daughters, Lonnett (Frank) Dietrich Blakley of Riverside, Ica (Kenneth) Shaull of North Liberty and Ellen (Kurt) Stevenson of Tiffin; two grandchildren, Nathan (Katie) Shaull of Bertram and Matthew (Kimberly) Shaull of Hiawatha; and three great-grandchildren, Keagan and Kyler Shaull and Raphael Shaull. She also is survived by two sisters, Frieda Reno of Marshalltown and Dorothy Miller of Mount Vernon.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 68 years, Leonard; a sister, Helen Haman; and three brothers, Herman, Ernest and John Punke.

Thelma Marie Punke Dietrich was born June 20, 1925, the daughter of Charles Garret and Ica Ogal Mercer Punke. She graduated from Marengo High School.

Thelma was united in marriage to Leonard Kenneth Dietrich on 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. In 2006, they retired from the farm and moved to Williamsburg.

Thelma enjoyed gardening in her vegetable and flower gardens. She canned a variety of goods from green beans to tomatoes. She baked incredible apple pies and cookies of all kinds. Thelma also was a seamstress, making clothes and handmade quilts. The truest philosophy of Thelma and Leonard 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."

Online condolences: www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

Published in The Gazette on October 5, 2019 and in The Current on October 9, 2019