TO: The Faculty FROM: Donald O. Rod, Director of Library Services
Mary Dieterich, a member of the library faculty from 1930 until her retirement in 1970, died of cancer Saturday, October 9, 1982, at the Windsor Care Center in Cedar Falls. A memorial service was held Tuesday afternoon at the United Church of Christ, of which she was a member.
Miss Dieterich was born at Marengo, Iowa, on February 16, 1902. She graduated from Grinnell High School in 1920, and in 1925 received her A. B. degree from Grinnell College, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After teaching three years in the Brookings, South Dakota, high school, she attended the library school at Columbia University as a Lydia Roberts fellow, receiving her B. S. L. S. degree in 1929. After serving one year as acting reference librarian at Grinnell, she came to the Iowa State Teachers College library in 1930 as a cataloger, but became reference librarian in 1946, in which capacity she served until her retirement. In 1964 she also assumed responsibility for the archives collection. She was actively involved in the university as a whole, serving on the Committee on Administration of Faculty Personnel from 1951 to 1954, and was elected to the Faculty Senate for terms totaling fifteen years between 1952 and her retirement, which is probably the longest tenure of any senator.
Mary was a highly competent and dedicated librarian whose performance won the respect of students and faculty alike. In addition, she was a warm and selfless individual who touched indelibly the lives of those who were fortunate enough to be her colleagues and friends. Indicative of her concern for others is the fact that in the years of her retirement she recorded books for the State Commission for the Blind. The family has indicated that memorials may be given to Mary's church, the United Church of Christ, Cedar Falls. October 13, 1982