Alfred E. Dittert, Jr. |
| Posted 2013-01-22 by Pat Wilson |
| Alfred E. Dittert, Jr., 84, of Tempe, AZ, passed away June 16, 2006. Known to his family, friends, and colleagues as "Ed", he was born in Dallas, TX and raised in Albuquerque, NM. While growing up, he often worked with his grandfather and uncle in the family store, May's Music Company and graduated from Albuquerque HS in 1939. An interest in archaeology that started while in high school led him to enroll as an anthropology major at the University of New Mexico. After serving in WWII, Ed married Audrey Ann Richard in 1946. He returned to his study of anthropology, receiving an M.A. from the University of New Mexico, then a Ph.D. from University of Arizona in 1959 in Anthropology. He worked at the Museum of New Mexico from 1955 to 1967 in many capacities, eventually serving as the Director of the Laboratory of Anthropology. As a member of the faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Arizona State University beginning in 1967, Ed became a widely respected teacher in the classroom and field schools. He authored numerous publications, both scholarly and popular, on a variety of topics in southwestern archaeology. Among the best known is Generations in Clay, reflecting his status as a preeminent expert in prehistoric and historic southwestern ceramics. After his retirement in 1987, when he received Emeritus status, Ed continued working on a number of archaeological and ethnological projects that were important to him, which recently included extensive work on water claims for the Pueblo of Acoma. In May, Ed and Audrey celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with their family. Known for his gentleness, his great love of archaeology and the desire to pass on that passion to his hundreds of students through the years, Ed will be missed by many. Ed is survived by his wife Audrey, son Eric, daughter Marta (Mike) McCabe, and his sisters Joy Dale and Idanel Sellars. Memorial services will be scheduled at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Sky City Cultural Center, PO Box 310, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico 87034, attention: Brian Vallo. Published in The Arizona Republic from 7/1/2006 - 7/2/2006. See Also: Find_A_Grave |
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