Donna V. "Donalee" (Collier) Dietrich

Donna Virginia “Donalee” Dietrich, age 84, of Mars, passed away on Monday afternoon, November 8, 2021 at UPMC Passavant Hospital in McCandless Twp.

Born in Arnold, NE on October 25, 1937, she was the daughter of the late Kermit Keith ad Mamie Irene Osborn Collier.

Donna spent her early childhood near Dunning, NE and graduated from Dunning High School. After college, she taught at the Ray Davis School and then went to airline school in Omaha and later moved to San Francisco working as a Pan American Airlines tele-typist where she met her husband, David Allen Dietrich, who she married on September 16, 1957 in Burlington, CA. After Dave got out of the Coast Guard they moved to Milan, MI, where she drove school bus, then to Bethel Park, PA before settling in Mars in 1976.

She enjoyed the 12 years she spent wintering in Yuma, AZ with family and friends.

She was a member of the Mars United Presbyterian Church.

She worked in Loan Support at Mars National Bank, retiring in April of 2000 after 21 years of service.

She loved tracing family roots and after retirement she traveled to many places where her ancestors lived and met many new cousins. She was able to complete a book of her research on both parents’ families. She did volunteer work on the Internet, helping people with their families from the Blaine Co. NE area, using the scrapbooks her mother had kept through the years. She belongs to the Cranberry Genealogy Society and many others around the U.S.  She recently was awarded the DAR certificate with her ancestor being Captain Enoch Osborne.

She loved gardening and raising flowers and veggies.

Surviving are three sons, Ken Dietrich, Danny Dietrich (Rona) and Mark Dietrich (Cindy), grandchildren, Eugene (Brandy) Dietrich, Shannon (Rob) Baucan, Jamie (Justan) Moody, Casey (Eric) Kaltenbach, Lauren Dietrich and Dillon Dietrich, great grandchildren, Rylee, Haydan, Rob, Ellie, Tanner, Aryhana, Taigyn and Coltan, her step-grandchildren, Holly, Robin and Steven and their families and her beloved cats, Patches and Jolene.

She was preceded in death by her husband, David A. Dietrich, who died on May 19, 2021 and by a brother, Gwynne.

Friends will be received at the McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home, Inc. 238 Crowe Ave. Mars, PA on Thurday, November 11, 2021 from 2-4 PM. Services will follow at 4:00 PM at the funeral home. Burial will be in Mars Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Butler County Humane Society, 1015 Evans City Rd. Renfrew, PA 16053 or to Sandhills Museum, P.O. Box 6, Dunning, NE 68833 in her honor. Directions and condolences are available at www.mcdonalda-aeberli.com.