Bernard J. Diedrich (Joe)

BERNARD J. DIEDRICH (JOE) of Sarasota, Fla., died July 21, 2015 in Gilford, N.H.
He was born April 11, 1921, the elder son of Joseph Victor and Marie Antoinette (Grewe) Diedrich. He was reared and educated in Michigan, attending parochial schools, including the University of Detroit.
His ancestry goes back many centuries to the central Europe area, along both sides of the Rhine River. All four of his grandparents came to America in the late 1800s.
He was the husband of Marjorie Harland (Barker) Diedrich. They were married at St. Veronica Catholic Church in East Detroit, Mich., in 1942. They lived in South America for many years and first resided in Florida in 1952. After residences in Texas and New Hampshire, they returned to Florida in 1981, after retirement.
He served on the staff at Purdue University as a civilian flight instructor before becoming an international airline pilot in 1943, which he was for 38 years. Purdue operated a CPT (Civilian Pilot Training Program) and WTS (War Training Service), along with a Naval Officer Education Program, for the U.S. government.
Diedrich was a member of the Airline Pilots Association and represented that group for many years in many capacities, being master chairman for two airlines that merged. He also served, for three years, as a representative of the United States in the International Airline Pilots Association.
He was director of flight for Braniff International Airways, and became vice president/operations for a foreign airline after retiring from active flight duty. He was also an airline management consultant.
He has two honorable discharges from military duty to his country; one from the U.S. Army Air Corps and the second from the U.S. Air Force, having served in the Military Transport Service, ATC group, for most of his airline years.
While a youth, he was elected to founding captain of the Sons of The American Legion for Post 261 in East Detroit. In the past years he has been a member of The American Legion.
Diedrich remained a flight instructor, even teaching his children and several grandchildren to fly, after retirement from airline flying, in his own private airplane.
He was a Catholic and member of St. Patrick's Parish in Sarasota. He had been a founding member and president of the St. Michael's Parish Men's Club on Siesta Key, Fla.; and also a Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus member.
Joe spent many years as an altar server, Eucharistic Minister and usher in service to the Catholic Church.
As a longtime member of the Sarasota Genealogical Society, he served two terms as president and was very active in family history affairs, participating in computer research and giving seminars in genealogical research.
He was an author and compilar of several family history books, including three volumes on his own ancestry, which are in the Library of Congress.
He held a real estate license in New Hampshire and served on the board of directors of the Siesta Beach House Condominium Association for 15 years, nine of those as president.
Survivors include his wife, Marjorie H. (Barker), of 72 years; six children: Bernard G. of Swartz Creek, Mich.; Susan T.(Cradock) of Boston and Sarasota, Robert B. of La Grande, Ore., John H. of Sarasota, Ann E. (Braden) of Hyde Park, N.Y., and Catherine W. (Rivard) of Sarasota and Gilford. He has a brother, Harold J, living in Pennsylvania. He and Marjorie had 20 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. He is predeceased by two children: Mary M. MacDonald of Madison, N.H., in 2013; and Gregory F. of Las Vegas in 2012.
"Joe" was one of the young college men selected by our government to be further educated as flight instructors, to train our military people in aviation. He was first licensed in 1940 and became a flight instructor in 1942. While still an aeronautical engineering student at the Jesuit-operated University of Detroit, he was employed by Murray Aircraft designing military aircraft.
By 1944, he was flying for Pan American Grace Airways on international routes. This airline had U.S. government military contracts for the Air Transport Command.
He continued to fly international routes for this airline and Braniff International after the two airlines merged. He was in command of many types of transport aircraft and also was in an executive position, as director of flight.
Both airlines were part of the Air transport Command during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
He was a member of the Braniff Silver Eagles.