James Stephen Dietrich
May 30, 1941 - May 6, 2021
J. Stephen Dietrich, after a prolonged illness, passed away on May 6. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Stephen was the youngest of four brothers who remained close throughout their lives. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in English, he went onto Wayne State for his Master's Degree. From there, he spent a year abroad studying in Italy, traveling in Europe and finally ending in England. After returning to the U.S, he was soon drafted and served in Vietnam, where he also taught English to fellow soldiers.
Stephen loved to read and it was no surprise that he chose a career in book publishing. He began in Los Angeles, was promoted to Minneapolis, and promoted again to this favorite city, New York. Working at McGraw-Hill, Pearson and Worth, Stephen introduced many faculty, to the world of successful college publishing. Those who knew Stephen relished his wit, intelligence, boundless curiosity and love of learning.
He loved an adventure and traveled all over the world with his favorite traveler, his wife of 38 years, Bonnie Lieberman. Stephen will be deeply missed by his wife Bonnie Lieberman; his children, Christian Dietrich, Katherine Nervig, Meredith Dietrich and their families. Stephen was predeceased by his brothers C. Markham, G. Philip and J. Kimball Dietrich. Those wishing to honor Stephen’s memory may donate to the Alzheimer’s Foundation. Plans for a party in Stephen’s honor, are pending.
https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/21095408/James-Stephen-Dietrich
Laurie Gossett (Randall)
Steve and I grew up together in Rosedale Park, attending Vetal, Redford and Uof M . We remained long time friends, from first grade until now. Through Steve, Dave and I met his brother Phil and wife Allene who lived in Kalamazoo and had a cottage at Port Sheldon as we do. The Dietrich's gathered there many summers; our children, now adults , grew up knowing each other. We swam, sailed, held beach roasts . Since there were many RHS grads among us, including Anne(Lindeman) and Bill Heaphy , who many of you know, all our other friends learned the Redford fight song, "Are you from Redford/ Yes, I'm from Redford/ True red and gray"
The last time I saw Steve, he greeted me," Guess what? They tell me I have Alzheimer's. " He laughed and we went on to other subjects. I know these last few years have been a struggle .
Steve was smart and funny, well-read and loved his family-his wife, children, brothers , friends. I miss him .
George Melling
Steve was also a classmate of mine at Vetal, then Redford. From early on he was the intelllectual type, not so much into sports. When I was in law school at Michigan we ran into each other on campus - he must have been in grad school, though I don't remamber. We had a good chat about how our lives were going. Much later, at the 50th reunon, we spent alot of time talking about what we were doing. I remember his funny comments about when he served in Vietnam, avoiding combat in various ways. Steve was a goood guy. I enjoyed knowing him; he was always fun and interesting to converse with. I'm sorry to learn that in the end he suffered from Alzheimer's. George
James (Mac) Richardson
Steve and I were next door neighbors on Artesian. Throughout Vetal and Redford days we did everything
together - scouts, football and baseball in the street. We started U of M as freshmen, along with our wives
to be Carol Sanders and Diana Boegarts. After our 50th Redford reunion, Steve and I sort of lost track of
one another - sad how things like that happen. Steve came across as being somewhat irreverent, but
down deep he was a real good guy. RIP Steve.