Eileen Brigid Dietrich was born on June 8, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Nelly and Joseph Lee and died peacefully in her home on June 29, 2021. She was raised with four beloved siblings: Maureen, Sheila, Brendan and Joan, all of whom have predeceased her. Eileen was educated in Philadelphia parochial schools and graduated with a chemistry degree from Immaculata College, which she attended on a cello scholarship. She was a star at Immaculata shining in the classroom, the orchestra, the stage and the basketball court. A loyal Immaculata alumnus, she attended reunions and stayed connected to her classmates throughout her life.
After graduation, she worked in the laboratory at Sharp and Dohme until mutual friends set her up with the love of her life, Lt. Wallace Dietrich. Wally swept her off her feet and kept her moving as the Air Force transferred them and their growing family across the Atlantic and around the country throughout his long military career. Eileen gamely unpacked her sewing machine and made curtains to transform each new posting into a home but, after she and Wally moved to Dunwoody, GA in 1973, she vowed she would never make another set of curtains again.
Eileen and Wally loved to play bridge and to entertain with parties full of laughter, music and martinis. Eileen had a beautiful voice and late in the evening Wally would prevail on her to sing. Sometimes he would accompany her, sometimes he would just listen with an enormous smile on his face.
When they moved to Georgia, they became active members of St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church. Eileen had a lifelong faith and trust in God and served the Church for many years as a Eucharistic Minister, Eucharistic Adoration Guardian and ESL Teacher and Tutor. Eileen will probably best be remembered by the St. Jude community for the many years when she taught at St. Jude’s School sharing her love for poetry with her 4th grade students. Some of her students, now in their 50’s, can still recite the poems she taught them.
Eileen relished her role as Nana to her 12 grandchildren. They treasured Nana’s handknit sweaters, blankets and bunnies and they loved her back scratches, her macaroni and cheese, and her somewhat macabre lullabies: “The Naughty Little Rabbit” and “The Lady and the Crocodile”. When Nana sang it, even a bunny baked into a pie or a lady swallowed by a crocodile was soothing and guaranteed to bring sweet dreams.
Eileen was predeceased by her beloved Wally, husband of 63 years, who died in 2015. She is survived by her four children who were lucky to have had this remarkable mother and her unconditional love in their lives for so many years: Robert Dietrich of Greenville, NC (wife, Julie, and children Anna, Amelia, Adam), Eileen Eberhart of Rye, NH (husband, Robert, and children Kristin, Eric and Max), Eric Dietrich of Atlanta, GA (wife, Carol, and children Connolly, Cavan and Caroline) and Kristin Erdman of Dunwoody, GA (husband, Steve, and children John, Elizabeth and Katherine). Eileen’s family is forever indebted to Yasmin, Belle, Gloria and Naisha (aka “Team Eileen”) for all of their help in recent years keeping Eileen happy, healthy and safe in her own home. It would have been impossible without them.
Eileen lived a life of worth, purpose and connection to her community. She treated everyone with kindness and respect. Her favorite hymn was “On Eagle’s Wings”. Surely God is holding her now in the palm of his hand as her spirit inspires us and our hearts soar on the wings of the memories she gave us.
A visitation with the family will be held on Sunday, July 25, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. at H.M. Patterson & Son – Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Road NE, Sandy Springs, GA. A rosary will begin at 7:30 p.m. The funeral mass will be held at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, 7171 Glenridge Drive NE, Sandy Springs, GA on Monday, July 26 at 10:30 a.m. Eileen will be buried next to Wally at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C., at a later date. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School, 7171 Glenridge Drive, Atlanta, GA 30328.
