James "Jim" Earl Dietz

Billings, Montana: James “Jim” Earl Dietz, age 66, of Glendive, Montana, passed away on Saturday, November 10, 2012 at the Billings Clinic in Billings. Visitation will be held from 3:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. on Sunday, November 18, 2012 at the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive. A Life Tribute Service will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, November 19, 2012 in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating. Interment will be at 3:30 P.M. on Monday, November 19, 2012 in the Sentinel Butte Cemetery in Sentinel Butte, North Dakota. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements. Jim was born on June 7, 1947 in Dickinson, North Dakota, a son of Joseph and Grace (Wassman) Dietz. He was raised and educated in Sentinel Butte attending grade school at the Country School and was the last graduating class before the school was shut down. Following graduation, Jim attended Technical School in Wahpeton, North Dakota. Jim met and later married Linda Burman on May 31, 1967. Jim was a hard worker and during the late seventies he was an over the road truck driver, he then had a mail route for six years before working as a Consultant for Baker Oilfields and Western Oil Services. Jim enjoyed camping, working with horses, roping horses and branding. In Jim’s later years he became interested in woodworking, motorcycles, attending reunions and meeting new people. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Grace Dietz; two sisters, Myrtle Iverson and Marcela Streitz and one brother, Bob Dietz. Survivors include his wife, Linda Dietz of Glendive; three sons, Darrell Dietz of Rugby, North Dakota, James Emory Dietz of Williston, North Dakota and Cody Wayne Dietz of Sidney, Montana; daughter, Tammy Jo Dietz of Sidney; granddaughter, whom Jim and Linda raised, Tesla Dawn Dietz of Glendive; nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; siblings, Richard Dietz of Beach, North Dakota, Margaret Farell of Marmarth, North Dakota, Doris Dietz of Kent, Washington, Edward Dietz of Beach, Charles Dietz of Yakima, Washington, JoAnne Love of Kent, Eleonor Bohn of Sentinel Butte and John Dietz of Gresham, Oregon and numerous nieces and nephews. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com. Eulogy: Celebrant Today is an important day. Today we will stop for a time to bear witness to Jim Dietz’s life and times among us, the difference his living and dying made among family and community, and we will take time to express our grief for the loss of Jim as we honor him with our memories. Jim Dietz was a good man, hardworking, with a rough and tough exterior, and a heart of gold that any kid, especially grandkids, could melt. He was a caring family man, and treated his friends like extended family. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who didn’t like Jim. Jim grew up on a farm and ranch in the Sentinel Butte, North Dakota area. Jim was the youngest of 12 kids in the family, and kept busy with ranch chores and school. When he wanted to kick up his heels, he would head to Wibaux for a bit of action. He was in the last graduating class of Sentinel Butte High School, and Jim could probably tell you the names of all his classmates and where they are today. Once you were in his life, Jim was the kind who never lost interest in you. After high school, Jim attended school in Wahpeton, North Dakota for welding, and eventually attended college in Glendive and Billings, Montana for automotive training. Jim believed in education. He used the skills he acquired over the years in many jobs, including ranch work, trucking, driving a mail route, working the oilfields, and working on diesel engines. Jim had a work ethic second to none, and he loved to keep busy. Jim was about 21 when he first met Linda. As Linda tells it, she and a girlfriend ran into a brother of Jim’s in Wibaux. He invited the girls out to the Dietz ranch where was a party going on. When Linda arrived and was going into the house where the party was, she spotted a fellow across the room, laughing and talking to a couple girls, one on each side of him. His name was Jim Dietz. Linda commented to her friend that there was the guy she was going to marry. She doesn’t know why she said that, but the chemistry must have been there for Jim, too, as he broke away the group he was in, approached Linda, and asked if she would like to go outside and talk. The rest is history…they were married a year later, becoming life partners, raising four children, Darrell, Jim, Cody, and Tammy and a granddaughter, Tesla. For Jim, nothing was more important than family, and for his family, Jim was their rock, the go-to guy for Linda and the kids. Jim was Jim, what you saw was what you got. If he told you he would do something, he did it. When Darrell was born, Jim almost lost both Linda and Darrell during the birth. Afterwards, when things were okay, Jim told Linda that the baby’s name was going to be Darrell, and then Jim headed to Golva to play donkey basketball because, well, he had said he would. He was very caring and you could go to him with anything. His sister, JoAnne tells that Jim was a good listener and had a big shoulder to lean on. He would let you know if you had messed up, but he was also the first one to help out and his motto was “never give up”. Jim was very protective, and he was strict. Son Darrell laughs when he says that his dad believed that a spanking before bed was good for kids. Jim also had a great sense of humor, and loved to have fun and do funny things. When traveling, Jim would pull off at rest stops and do goofy things to break the monotony of going down the road. His son Jim recalls a spring when the cottonwood seeds were flying and all over in the house. His dad told the kids that he had kicked the stuffing out of the Easter bunny. Jim had a big smile and a positive attitude about life that was infectious. With the many ups and downs of life, Jim’s would simply respond with a “Oh, what the hell!” Over the years, Jim worked hard to provide for his family. He would go where the jobs were and that meant moving his family many times and to many places all over the country. Jim also loved to travel, and there are few states he hasn’t been in either driving truck over the road with jobs, or on memorable vacations with family and friends. Darrell remembers when his dad drove truck how the family would park in Wibaux when Jim would be going through, and they would give each other a shout over the CB’s. And during his travels, Jim never passed by anything lying on the roadside; he found many “treasures” and good things. Jim and his family once traveled by motor home from Maine to Washington state where Jim’s sister lived. It took 9 days for the 7 or 8 people in the motor home to make that trip cross country, with a crib strapped to the front of the motor home, somewhat like the movie family, the Griswolds. It was quite a memorable trip. Jim and Linda would travel by motorcycle with their good friends, Frank and Carol Carpenter and others to places in Minnesota, Wisconsin’s House on the Rock, Branson, Missouri, and South Dakota. Many adventures and misadventures occurred with the friends and the trips. Jim loved to drive and Darrell says when he taught the kids to drive, they learned with the right foot on the gas and the left foot on the brake, mostly to keep the vehicles running. Jim was a Ford man. One of the things Jim loved to keep busy with was tinkering on vehicles. Sometimes it was his job to mechanic, sometimes it was just for himself, family members or friends. He also loved woodworking. He made many things; rocking chairs, coat racks, shelves. The chair you see here today is one Jim made. Jim enjoyed going over to Beach and working with his brother Ed in Ed’s woodworking shop. Jim would work on any carpenter projects that family or friends had, saying “don’t hire anyone, I can do it.” He helped his son, Jim, build a porch along with son Cody and grandson Jacob. They shake their heads and call Jim’s cuts “funny”, but he would get things done. You could always count on Jim for help and support, anytime, anywhere and in any way he could. Friends were very important to him; Jim considered them family. Carol Carpenter grew up in the Sentinel Butte area and she and Jim shared many experiences and a long friendship throughout life. They were drinking buddies and she was more like a sister to Jim. Pat Smith just calls Jim “a damn good friend”. When Pat’s husband, LeRoy, died, Jim still stopped for coffee, and Jim understood how hard some things were for Pat to do alone. The first Bump ‘n Run after LeRoy’s death, Jim showed up to take Pat to the event with him. Jim was very sensitive to the needs of others and quick to support them. Jim’s coffee time was really about socializing with people, and might include beer and cigarettes, or diet coke. He was a favorite to take to weddings, reunions, and parties because he loved to dance. His music of choice was waltzes and polkas. Tesla tells that Jim loved Molly B’s Polka Party. Other favorites in Jim’s life included horses and roping. Linda says he would miss dates if he had an opportunity to go steer roping. The one time Jim won something in his life, it was a Tennessee walker horse in a raffle down in Baker, Montana. He named the horse Pride. Jim enjoyed cooking for family and friends on the bar-b-que grill. Foods that Jim enjoyed included sour cream raison and banana cream pies, along with shrimp and lobster. Jim’s computer technology expertise was spent playing computer solitaire, a game he loved. And throughout his life, Jim enjoyed fishing. One memorable fishing excursion came about when he went with son Jim to Alaska to his grandson Joseph’s graduation and had the opportunity to go halibut fishing with son Jim and grandson Jacob. It was a good experience for all, and fishing was something Jim looked forward to doing more of. Jim seemed to take life as it came. He enjoyed the journey. He took pride in being the person who did what he said he would do, pride in being reliable and dependable. For Jim, everyone else came first, and he set an example to his children with his work ethic and his “don’t give up” attitude. Jim brightened the day with that positive approach to life and with a smile that would light up his face for the people around him. Jim’s family was all important to him; Jim never forgot a friend. On November 10, 2012, a good man died. Jim’s cremated remains will be buried in the Sentinel Butte Cemetery in Sentinel Butte, North Dakota. This seems very appropriate since this is where Jim’s roots are. A friend observed that when life’s problems would settle in, Jim would head to Beach or Sentinel Butte for a visit. It seemed to be where he could regroup and find his inner strength. Later today, he will return one last time and it will become the final resting place for his remains. Jim’s life spirit will find it’s final resting place in the hearts of his family and friends who love him. Jim Dietz will be greatly missed.

James "Jim" Earl Dietz

June 7, 1947 - November 19, 2012

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James "Jim" Earl Dietz

June 7, 1947 - November 19, 2012

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

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