Obituary

Wendell Roy Dieman was born to Dr. Roy Arthur Dieman and Araminta LeOpal Duncan Dieman, on February 28th, 1930, in Okmulgee OK. Born with a nerve-based injury to his arm, he began dancing at an early age at the behest of his doctors. Despite beginning as a necessity to strengthen his arm, this evolved into an abiding love and deep respect for dance and music which he enjoyed greatly all of his life. In his formative years, he attended the Emerson School, Horace Mann School, and Okmulgee High School, where in addition to his studies, he also performed with the school band as a cornet player, served as a page in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and through the Boy Scouts of America achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, ultimately acting as Den Chief, before graduating with the class of 1948. Upon graduating he was accepted into the Institute of Technology at Oklahoma A&M College, now known as Oklahoma State University. He faithfully served his fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, as reporter, secretary, and Vice President, alongside achieving merits within the Phi Eta Sigma & Pi Tau Sigma honor societies before graduating with his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He utilized his education immediately, embarking on what would evolve into an over three decades long career with Corning Glass Works, where he rose to the rank of Senior Equipment Engineer. Perhaps the greatest achievement afforded to him through his time at Corning though, was that it offered him the opportunity to meet Ms. Delores June Dodson, who would later become his wife. They were wed on August 7th, 1955, the day which would begin a marriage of such fortitude that it lasted for over 6 decades, and closer to 7. Together, they built their home in Muskogee Oklahoma, in a house that he designed himself, and which houses his growing family to this day. It was at this time that he joined the Bethany Presbyterian Church, now the Presbyterian Church of Muskogee, of which he was an avidly dedicated member for the rest of his life. He turned his lifelong passions of building, designing, and fixing all things mechanical to the service of others, often assisting the church and community with repairs, maintenance, and transportation throughout the subsequent decades. In 1958, Wendell and Delores welcomed their son Mark Wade Dieman into the world, and in 1960, their daughter Diane Renee Dieman Harris. Both would go on to found families of their own, Mark with his wife Cindy welcoming 4 children, Chelsea, Darcie, Lucy, and Mark Christian, and Diane her daughter Megan. These grandchildren have gone on to form their own families, and are proudly raising 4 great-grandchildren (and counting). Rather than expounding on the adventures and achievements of this era of his life, of which his family was merely his most proudly held, we instead include these words, written by Wendell himself: "I've bucked rivets for a summer in Coffeeville, and I've worked in a small machine shop making parts. I've skied down mountains, top to bottom, and I've hiked the Grand Canyon, West to East. I've built sets for the Muskogee Little Theatre and High School, and I've ridden a bike freewheeling across the length and breadth of Oklahoma (many times). I've explored caves, visited the Amish, Disneyland, England, the Netherlands, and Austria, and been in a small fishing boat miles from shore in the Gulf of Mexico. I've driven into Mexico from Texas and California, and stood atop the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. I've been in the crown of the Statue of Liberty, and walked the streets of New York City on a Sunday afternoon." Alongside all of this, Wendell helped to create a close-knit family, composed not only of his blood children, but also including the enduring and lovingly maintained bonds of his AFS exchange students, notably Will Plesser of Austria, and his family. He goes now to be reunited with his siblings, Janice LeOpal Reid and Jon Arthur Dieman. He was a stalwart man who was substantially satisfied with his life, and it was a blessedly long one of over 92 years. He was immensely generous and giving of his time; to his family, to his community, and to his church. He was loyal beyond measure. So, let us mourn as we may, and let us cry if we must, but let us also not forget that we are here to honor and remember a man who was very proud, and profoundly fulfilled by the life and legacy he is leaving behind. On behalf of our family, and especially his beloved wife of so many years, Delores Dodson Dieman, we would like to deeply and sincerely thank you all for your presence here today, and your kind remembrance of Mr. Wendell Roy Dieman. (February 28th, 1930 June 19th 2022) A family conducted memorial service will be 10:30 A.M., Thursday, June 30, 2022 at The Presbyterian Church of Muskogee at 2000 Haskell Blvd Muskogee, OK. Cremation services provided by Cornerstone Funeral Home & Crematory.