Husband, uncle, friend, professional engineer, mechanically minded, faithful, a kind man, caring. These are a few of the names and qualities that could refer to Eugene Carl Diedrich, who was born August 1, 1932, in Byers, Colorado, a small farming community 50 miles east of Denver. His parents were Sam and Ida Diedrich, who were homesteaders. He was the youngest of seven children. He passed away on Father’s Day 2019.
He and wife Gail would have been married 50 years this December. They lived in Las Vegas, Nevada; Kennewick, Washington; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Denver.
Gene and Gail enjoyed traveling, and among their destinations were Central and South America, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Europe, Australia, Canada, and Mexico.
Gene had a good sense of humor and enjoyed telling a joke or humorous story from his past. Other memories family members recall were his ability to fix anything, freely sharing his knowledge, planning road trips, gardening, collecting antiques, exercising, and photography. Most importantly, he loved Jesus and sought to live out his Christian faith.
After completing high school, Gene served in the Air Force in the early 1950s and then attended Colorado State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. From there, his engineering career included stops at Rocketdyne, the Annin Co., General Dynamics, Aerojet Nuclear Systems Co., Westinghouse Hanford, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, from which he retired.
On the Diedrich side, his parents, siblings Delene, Thor, Doris Roslyn, Fay, and Bernice, preceded him in death. A nephew, Ronnie Fairbanks also passed away in the early 1980s.
Gene is survived by his wife Gail and his stepchildren—Kelly (grandson Ryan) and Kim (Cecil), sister Helen Henley and sister-in-law Shirley. Other survivors on the Diedrich side include his five nephews and nieces—Elaine (Carl) Jamison and their three children and six grandchildren; Deb (Dan) Grieve and their 4 children and 10 grandchildren; David (Jeanne) Diedrich and their four daughters; Mike (Lori) Henley and their son and daughter, and Cherrie Fairbanks.
No flowers please. Donations in memory of Eugene Carl Diedrich can be made to National Jewish Health online at www.nationaljewish.org/donate by mail - PO Box 5898, Denver CO 80217-9171, or by phone 303-728-6560.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.OlingerHampdenMortuary.com for the Diedrich family.
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