Helen Stephanie Dieterich

Helen Stephanie Dieterich, 70, died at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday (May 31, 2011) in the Golden Living Center-Stroud in East Stroudsburg, Penn. Her husband of 40 years, Richard A. Hetzel, had passed away only seven months previously on Oct. 12, 2010.

Stephanie was born in Quincy on Aug. 18, 1940, to William Joseph Dieterich and Virginia Ruth Robinson Dieterich of Quincy, both now deceased. The second of three daughters, she is survived by her sisters, Kathryn Dieterich-Rurup of Aurora, Colo. and Deborah Dieterich Real of Quincy.

Her father, William Dieterich, was attorney for the Quincy Public Schools, Quincy University, and other area school districts for many decades. Her mother, Virginia, was administrative secretary at Salem Church for many years.

Stephanie grew up in Quincy and had many friends. She attended Quincy public schools and began to study trumpet while at Webster Grade School. She became first chair trumpet in both the Quincy High School band and orchestra, and was a featured soloist her senior year. She also was a member of the Quincy Drum and Bugle Corps, the Quincy Park Band, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, which featured her as a Young Artists Night soloist in 1958.

She attended the University of Illinois School of Music, majoring in trumpet, and was named first chair in the concert band in her junior year. She was a member of the University of Illinois Concert Band, Concert Orchestra and Wind Ensemble in her freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years. She was a 1962 graduate with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Performance.

In 1966, she moved to New York City where she attended and graduated from Parsons New School of Design with a degree and certification in Architecture of Interior Design, working at night and on weekends to fund her college education. She was featured in the Parsons New School of Design Magazine, received an award for a couch that she designed, and also completed additional coursework in Landscape Design.

It was during this period that Stephanie met and fell in love with Richard A. Hetzel, an architect in New York City. They were married on Feb. 14, 1971, and shared an office together in Nyack, N.Y. Stephanie designed a children's room for the Haverstraw Public Library, a coffee shop, a drive-in safety booth for a 7-Eleven convenience store in upper New York, had several landscape design projects and worked for a nursery, and also had a number of private clients.

About 10 years ago, Stephanie developed Alzheimer's Disease. They moved to Tobyhanna, Pa., where her husband cared for her until 2007 when she was admitted to the Alzheimer's Unit of the Golden Living Center-Stroud, where she spent her final years.

Stephanie was a very creative person who had a gift for music, art, design and photography. She was an outstanding cook and in her early-20s was a cook for Fabiola Moorman. Her laugh could fill a room, and she was outgoing and full of life and fun. An avid reader, she particularly enjoyed books on local history, cookbooks, children's books, landscaping and gardening. She was a great lover of animals.

She is survived by a step-daughter, Maya Hetzel; her sisters; a niece, Elizabeth Alexander Real Ericson and her husband Brant of Quincy; her husband's niece, Heidi Hetzel-Evans of Columbus, Ohio; several cousins; and her beloved cat, Jack.

She was preceded in death by her parents and husband; two uncles, Richard Robinson and Harry Lynn (Uncle Buddy) Robinson; three aunts, Jo Alice Robinson Maher, Helen Dieterich, and Ruth Dieterich Wilson; and her beloved cat, Sam.

SERVICES: A memorial service will be held Oct. 1, 2011. The time and place will be announced later.

MEMORIALS: The Quincy Humane Society, 1705 North 36th St., Quincy, IL 62305; the Quincy High School Music Department, 3322 Maine, Quincy, IL 62301; Golden Living Center- Stroud Alzheimer's Unit, 221 East Brown Street, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301; or Asera Care Hospice, 749 Northern Blvd., Clark Summit, PA, 18411.

ARRANGEMENTS: The William H. Clark Funeral Home, Stroudsburg.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.whig.com.