Joel P. Dietz, 84 of Cotuit, died peacefully on Sunday, February 28th after a long struggle with an autoimmune disease. He was born in 1936 in Winthrop, MA, son of Capt. Christian G. Dietz and Andrea (Wyman) Dietz.
Joel was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Sandra (Jamieson) Dietz, middle son Erik C. Dietz, and wife of 17.5 years, Nancy W. Dietz. He is survived by his sons Joel P. Dietz of Johnson City, TN, Karl F. Dietz of Provincetown, MA, daughters Gretchen D. LaPan of Arlington, MA, Ingrid D. Ancri of North Reading, MA, Karla D. Mitchell of Cotuit, MA and 7 beloved grandchildren.
Joel was an Eagle Scout and a U.S. Navy carrier pilot. He had a fulfilling and exciting engineering career in research and development and manufacturing in the semiconductor industry from the early stages in 1960 at Transitron, later at IBM, Motorola, and Intel. Seeking additional work challenges, he changed locations within companies many times, working for eight years in Europe at IBM development laboratories in Stuttgart and Paris. He developed the first theories as well as practical solutions in the field of semiconductor reliability which were used in six U.S. government missile programs. These were applied during the industry transitions through several base materials from germanium, to silicon and later to III-V materials, which were used as transmitters and receivers in early optoelectronics.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com.
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