Donald W. Dietsch | Realtor, 87

Donald W. Dietsch, 87, of Springfield, Delaware County, an industrial and commercial Realtor, died of mesothelioma Saturday, May 22, at home.

Mr. Dietsch was the owner of Dietsch Real Estate Co. in Center City before retiring in 2000. He was a member of the Society of Industrial Realtors.

A lifelong resident of Delaware County, he graduated from Upper Darby High School. During World War II, he graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Officer Candidate School in Fort Trumbull, Conn., and served in the Merchant Marine aboard ships in the Atlantic.

While on shore duty, he met his future wife, Geraldine Farrar, at a nightclub in Philadelphia. They married in 1944 after a seven-week courtship.

After the war, Mr. Dietsch joined the real estate business of his father, Frederick. He later owned the business.

In his youth, he was a lifeguard in Ocean City, N.J., and while his children were growing up, he enjoyed sailing and surf fishing with them on vacations in Ocean City. In recent years, he and his wife owned a vacation home in the Bahamas.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Dietsch is survived by a son, Donald; daughters Deborah Hancock, Deanna Crandall, Joyce Fortunato, and Pamela Roman; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 27, at Frank C. Videon Funeral Home, 2001 Sproul Rd., Broomall. Friends may call at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill.