The Herald & News, Klamath Falls, OR., May 19, 2006, page A5

Includes portrait.

WALTER SAMUEL DIETRICH

     Walter Samuel "Walt" Dietrich, 89, died May 14, 2006, of natural causes in Klamath Falls. Private Family graveside services will be held this summer at Trout Lake Cemetery at Trout Lake, Wash. Cremation will be by Klamath Cremation Service. O'Hair & Riggs Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
     Mr. Dietrich was born Feb. 7, 1911, in McMinnville to Emil and Sarah (Leu) Dietrich. He was the youngest of their eight children. He was raised at Trout Lake. His father was a dairyman and the children learned to work hard on his ranch.
     He later began a variety of occupations in the Pacific Northwest, including working on ranches with sheep and cattle and being involved in a sulfur mine exploration at the peak of Mt. Adams. In 1940, he moved to Klamath Falls and initially was a ranch hand on the Liskey Ranch, where he met his lifelong friend Jack Liskey.
     He married his first wife Jane in Reno in the early 1950s and they made their permanent home in Klamath Falls.
     Mr. Dietrich started Walter Dietrich Excavation and helped build reservoirs, roads and did numerous projects clearing and leveling land.
     Although his home was in Klamath Falls, he worked for 40 years for ranchers in the Red Bluff, Calif., area, leveling more than 60,000 acres there.
     After his wife preceded him in death in 2002, he became reacquainted with Betty Jean "Penny" Aerni, a childhood friend from Trout Lake, and they were married on Sept. 6, 2003, in Klamath Falls. He then retired.
     Mr. Dietrich had a passion for horses and loved packing into the wilderness for several days, often taking special friends and family members with him. A few years ago, he packed from Mt. St. Helens to Mt. Adams and thoroughly enjoyed the excursion.
     He was an avid outdoors­man and especially enjoyed hunting and fishing.
     He was a member of the Elks Lodge in Red Bluff and, for many years, was a volunteer for the Red Bluff Rodeo Association.
     Survivors include his wife Betty Jean "Penny" Dietrich of Klamath Falls; brother Bill Dietrich of Glide; and numerous nieces and nephews.
     He also leaves lifelong friends Jack and Virgie Liskey.
     In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by sisters Hannah Berlinger and Verna Mohr and brothers Franz, Albert, Rudy and Carl Dietrich.
     Memorial donations may be made to High Desert Hospice, 2894 Greensprings Drive, Klamath Falls, OR 97601.