DIERKER, Dottie

Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, AZ Sunday, October 24, 2010 Dottie Dierker, 87, of Flagstaff, died Oct. 17, 2010. She was born May 8, 1923, in Naperville, Ill., to Jack and Martha Maier. After completing nursing school in Evanston, Ill., Mrs. Dierker went to California to become an industrial nurse in the war effort. There, she tasted Mexican food, rare steak and sunshine, and never glanced back at Illinois. She also met and married Dr. Hugh Dierker. The couple started life together in Los Angeles, moving to Corcoran, Calif., and briefly to Phoenix before making Flagstaff their home in 1953. When the marriage dissolved in 1964, Mrs. Dierker went to work for The Guidance Center, which became a long and satisfying association. She also was drafted to become the first woman board member for the hospital, and helped shape policy respecting both health care workers and women in that field. She was a legendary hostess, and literally thousands of people were invited to share her table and delicious food. She threw wonderful parties at the Cabin in Oak Creek. Mrs. Dierker started a bed and breakfast in her Flagstaff house for her retirement years. She also developed a real love of travel, which she instilled in her children. And she was brave -- skiing the Alps, rafting the Colorado River, and at the age of 74, taking a safari in Africa with son Brian, paddling down the Zambezi River to be among the animals, an experience that remained supreme in a long list of events in a life well lived. She was funny, kind, tough, generous and articulate, with a surgical grip on sarcasm. She was gifted with a capacity to hold life-long friendships. Mrs. Dierker is survived by her children, Dena (Helmut) Kuhn, Daniel (Alida) Dierker, Lauri (Dennis) Wilson, Andy (Don) Perry, Brian (Jen) Dierker and Eric (Hang) Dierker; six grandchildren; and two great-granddaughters. A memorial gathering will be at the Cabin in Oak Creek, the place so dear to her. Please call a family member for details. Memorial donations may be made to Flagstaff Medical Center Foundation, the Arizona State Braille and Talking Book Library, or Aspen Manor (3620 N. Walker Drive).
Posted by Sharla on October 24, 2010

Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.