Edith Jane Dietzen

Edith “Edie” Dietzen was born to Alfred and Margaret Simantel on May 17th, 1945 and raised on their farm in Hillsboro, Oregon. She returned to her Lord on September 23rd, 2022 near her family in Gig Harbor, Washington. 

Edie spent her early years picking strawberries and collecting filberts on the farm. She would make a “fortune” of five cents usually for every bucket. The youngest of four children, she was remembered for being a “stinker” for always finding ways to be involved in her older sister's lives, especially when it came to interviewing their dates. It was often said that she could make another five cents from her sisters who would pay for her to go-away so they could be alone with their boyfriends. 

Edie attended Concordia University in Portland, Oregon and received her Master’s of Education degree from Valparaiso University in Indiana. She also met and married Gerald “Jerry” Dietzen while in Indiana. The young couple enjoyed cruising on summer nights in Jerry’s sports cars, exploring and having picnics. The couple moved to Redmond, Washington and raised their three boys there. During that time, she also taught piano to the kids in the neighborhood, and was an organist at Pilgrim and All Saints Lutheran churches.

Edie always maintained a love of music. From reminiscing about seeing Bob Dylan and Joan Baez live when she was younger, to belting-out “the oldies” with her sons when she drove them to school, she had an appreciation for how the Lord gave the gift of music in many ways. One of her sons still laughs about her showing up to one of his concerts at a club in downtown Seattle when she was 70 years old, but she wasn’t allowed in because she forgot her ID! 

Throughout her career, Edie taught middle-school and was a school counselor for many years. She eventually went back to school to get another Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Seattle Pacific University and started her own counseling practice during retirement. 

Edie is remembered as being deeply-relational. She loved people, she always spent time listening and asking questions about both the ups and downs of their lives, and was never in a rush to wrap-up a good conversation. One of her sons remembers her sometimes saying “People are just everything to me.” Edie also loved to laugh and be silly, especially if it could break an awkward moment or lighten the mood. She would often try to find a way to recall an applicable Monty Python, or other humorous movie quote, to put others at ease (whether or not it worked was another matter, like in a doctors offices, but it still made her chuckle all the same). She remained a child at heart. Though she could struggle with doubts and the worries of life, she trusted in her Lord Jesus Christ like a child too. In her final days she said “I’m hearing the Lord say, ‘just let all these worries and anxieties go girl.’”

Edie is survived by her sons David, Jonathan (wife Ryah and grandchildren Evie and Cole) and Benjamin, as well as her sisters Ruth and Ellen, and brother David. 

Edie will rest alongside Jerry and other family members at The Old Scotch Church Cemetery in Hillsboro, Oregon. A memorial service will be held in honor of Edie at Family of Christ Lutheran church in Vancouver, Washington on Saturday, October 29th at 1pm. 

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