Obituary of Jim Dietrich

DOB 03/28/1950 DOD 10/29/2025 Obit Provided by family. James E Dietrich Jr (known to many as Jim or Jimbo) was born on March 28,1950 to James and Helen Dietrich in Yakima, Washington. James moved to Othello at the age of 12 with his parents and siblings Steven and Doug with Judy staying behind to finish high school. James graduated from Othello High School in 1968 and went on to Yakima Valley Community College to continue his education in criminal justice. In early August 1972 James joined the Othello Police department which began his 17 1/2 year long career. During his tenure as a police officer he helped countless people, wrote lots of tickets, and had stories to share about random poor choices made by many. Many stories he shared with others to help prevent them from repeating mistakes others had made. On August 19, 1972 James married the love of his life, Linda Keeper, who stayed by his side for over 53 years. Together their family grew with the birth of Jamie and Staci and later 5 grandchildren. Throughout the years James was an active member in the community in the Kiawani’s Club. He helped with numerous bike-o-thons and the food booth at the annual Adams County rodeo. After retiring from the police department in 1989 James took a little time off and found a new career at the Ace Hardware store in Othello where he worked as a sales clerk and eventually manager for the next 12 years. He helped countless Othello residents with fix it projects or new projects from creating new underground yard sprinkler systems, building fences, vehicles, or anything else others needed. He was a handy man having remodeled the family home several times over the years adding on a large living room, extra garage, and a new big master bedroom with bathroom. If it could be fixed, James was your man to help figure out how to get it done. James retired from Ace Hardware in 2002 and decided to move to the Tri-Cities area, settling in their newly built home in Pasco in December 2005. James enjoyed retirement with his 5 grandchildren (Kaileigh, Connor, Cody, Maci, and Graci) watching school programs and cheering them on at basketball, soccer, track, softball games, and pig shows. James passed away at his residence with his loved ones by his side on October 29, 2025. He is preceded in death by his Parents James E Dietrich Sr, Helen Dietrich. James is survived by his wife Linda Dietrich, Daughters Jamie Hafer, and Staci (Mike) Denton, sister Judy (Don) Carlton, brothers Steven (Paula) Dietrich and Doug (Mira) Dietrich, 5 grandchildren Kaileigh Dietrich-Denton, Connor Hafer, Cody Hafer, Maci Denton, and Graci Denton.