Charles Curtis Dietrich passed away peacefully on the night of October 14, 2015.  He was born on November 16, 1927 in Memphis, Tennessee to Carl Dietrich and Maude McCutcheon Dietrich.  The family returned to its Kansas roots when he was five.  Chuck graduated from Wichita East High School, class of 1945.  He attended Stanford University which in 1946 saw an increased diversity with the arrival of ex-soldiers on the GI Bill.  Veterans Alfred A. Aya and John Brohm  were among these older students.  They, Don Harger and Rufus Tracy were all in that class of ’49 who remained friends for life.

After graduation with the Class of 1949, Charles attended Stanford Law School and graduated with the now-famous Class of 1952.  He spent most of his legal career with Utah International, which company sent him to their explorations and developments in the American Southwest as well as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Africa.  He specialized in water rights and mineral law.  He was a long-time member and served one year as President of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Association.

He was a natural geologist who worked long hours in law in order to indulge his great love of travel.  Vacations took him through Europe and Africa.  He was a good photographer –his pictures from Kenya and Tanzania in the early 1960s are outstanding. Chuck enjoyed hiking and backpacking in the Sierras.  He developed a fine appreciation of the cultures and beauty of the American Southwest.  His adventures eventually inspired his own children to respect and honor nature and always to listen and explore.

Chuck met MaryAnn Newell in 1971 and they were married in 1976.  They purchased a home in Sausalito and raised three sons:  Carl (Anna Mracek Dietrich), Scott (Emily Capello) and Rob.  Charles was a quiet, reflective man and a gracious host.  He possessed a natural dignity and he respected the opinions of others.  He was also an accomplished guitarist with a voice that captured the sorrows, joys and beauty of international folk music and he could yodel!

This year, he was blessed with two beautiful granddaughters, Natalia Elise to Emily and Scott in January and Livia Grace to Anna and Carl in March.  He held them and watched them grow for a little while.

  In lieu of flowers, he would suggest support of the Nature Conservancy or the California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park.