Francis was born on Aug 12, 1921 in Lindsay, TX, the son of Clara and Valentine Dieter. He grew up on the family farm and attended school in Lindsay. He is preceded in death by his parents and siblings Valentine, Dorothy, Anna Mae and Jerome, as well as his beloved wife Clara. He is survived by his brother, Rudy and his wife Anabelle.
During WWII he served in the Navy Seabees traveling to the Azores, the Philippines and China before returning home in 1946. He earned a machine shop degree at Letourneau University in Longview, TX. Francis was married to the love of his life, Clara Hundt, in 1947. They had known each other since the 1st grade and moved to Dallas in 1951. They were married for 63 years before her death in 2010. Francis and Clara thoroughly enjoyed traveling to annual Seabee reunions and visiting many national parks. Francis only flew on an airplane a few times, but managed to visit 43 out the 50 states in the US. In 2013 he visited Washington, DC as a veteran on an Honor Flight, arranged by friends from St Rita.
Francis was employee #389 at Texas Instruments where he worked as a machinist for 30 years until retirement in 1982. He faithfully attended TI alumni reunions until last year. After retiring, Francis spent many hours in his shop creating beautiful pieces of wood art and mechanical steam engines. He delighted in showing kids how the steam engines worked and sharing his wooden creations with his friends. He enjoyed brewing his own beer and having a beer with friends and neighbors who stopped by for a visit. His secrets to a long life were God, family, good friends, hard work, beer, chillable red wine and any kind of pie. He read the Dallas Morning News every day and kept up with current events to make conversations relevant.
Francis was a longtime parishioner of St. Rita Catholic Community and was always grateful for the outpouring of support that he received in the last few years from people who took him to Mass, brought him meals, and made a point to visit him. His neighbors and church friends helped him celebrate his 99th birthday this past summer with a nice drive-by party at his home. He’s giving you all a “special goodbye” as you read this. The Dallas Morning News shared his story this past August. At 99, widowed Navy vet is immersed in northwest Dallas community’s drive-by birthday wishes
Francis often said that he arrived here on earth because of the Spanish Flu. His half-brother and his mother’s first husband died from it. His mother went on to bless Francis with life and he chose to lead it with great character and zest. He is now reunited with Clara and will undoubtedly give us a “special hello” from time-to-time to remind us of the important things in life.
A Rosary will be recited at 9:00 a.m. at St. Rita Catholic Community, 12521 Inwood Rd., Dallas, TX 75244, immediately followed by the Mass of Christian Burial, at 10:00 a.m. on December 16th. Interment will follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery, Lindsay, Texas at 3:00 p.m. For those unable to attend, the Mass will be livestreamed at https://youtu.be/QO0jNsHXTe4 and will be available afterward on the St. Rita website.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Rita Catholic Community, 12521 Inwood Rd., Dallas, TX 75244 or to LeTourneau University, 2100 S. Mobberly Ave., Longview, TX 75602, or to the charity of choice.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18