Dan Dietsch, Deacon at St. Joseph Parish, Died Friday

Caption: Dan Dietsch, deacon of St. Joseph Parish in Homewood, was 62.

Dan Dietsch, deacon of Homewood’s Parish of St. Joseph, died Friday of a cerebral hemorrhage, according to his church.

There will be a visitation Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 5 p.m. at the church, 17951 Dixie Highway, followed by Mass at 7 p.m. Mr. Dietsch, 62, of Homewood, is survived by his wife, Thelma, his son Simon, daughter Robin, and three grandchildren.

A message posted to the parish website shares information about Dan Dietsch’s life and his 18 years of ministry at St. Joseph:

It has been said that the works and deeds and the example one sets are how one is remembered. Dan’s reflection can be seen in many ways.

In 1996, Dan and his wife, Thelma, had moved from Houston, Texas, to the Chicago area because of a job transfer. New to the area, they walked in to St. Joe’s at the end of a Saturday Mass looking for a bulletin when they met Fr. Jim Sayers.

“This is the place you want to be,” he told them, and so they became parishioners and Dan joined the parish lectors.

Over time, Dan and Thelma stepped forward to work on a number of parish activities and ministries. Having moved numerous times for work, the couple knew that being active parish members was a great way to get to meet people, and they found the St. Joseph community very welcoming.

Dan accepted an invitation to become a deacon after Fr. Richard Kozak took Dan and Thelma to an orientation session for deacon couples. Thelma recalls Dan had been asked to be a deacon twice before, but work obligations kept him from accepting. This time, he was ready to commit to the three principles of deaconate work: serving on the altar, preaching and outreach. He was ordained a deacon of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2007 and assigned to St. Joe’s.

In the past seven years as deacon, Dan has left his imprint on the parish. His sermons for the Wednesday morning Mass and various Sundays presented a pithy message in short form. Serving on the altar brought him great joy. What most of us didn’t see were the numerous things Dan did behind the scenes-everything from helping prepare children for Confirmation to working on the parish bulletin to joining the organizing committee for the parish Centennial Celebration and getting the parish directory published.

And, he was especially grateful for his special ministry at Zacchaeus House, a deaconate home for men in transition. It allowed Dan to do outreach and bring peace to men who were overcoming their bad habits and sorry influences. By the time Dan’s counseling and support work ended, he had newly established friendships. Donations to zacchaeushouse.com in Dan’s name will help support this work.

“We know he could be impatient. Sometimes people drove him crazy,” said Thelma. “But just like his family, he loved his parish deeply.”

» Funeral Information: Services are being handled by Ryan Tews Funeral home. More information can be found on the Ryan Tews website.