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William Diehl Obituary

Diehl, William J. LATHAM William J. Diehl, 87, passed away peacefully at his residence, on Monday, November 30, 2020. A longtime Latham resident, he was born in Troy, the son of the late William and Emily Nailor Diehl. Bill was predeceased by Henrietta, his loving wife of 51 years. Bill is survived by his family, Susan Diehl; son-in-law, Robert Miller of Michigan; Christopher and Lisa Diehl of Webster, N.Y., their daughters, Meghan (Josh) and Allie; Matthew and Amy Diehl of West Chester, Pa., their children, Madelyn and Nicholas; Karen Diehl Sullivan, of Latham, and her children, Jessica, Stephen and Emily. Bill is also survived and adored by his cousin, and several nieces, nephews and friends that will always be cherished. Bill was predeceased by his daughter, Lisa Anne Miller; his sisters, Alma (Alex) Zak and Lois (Dave) Davis; his sisters-in-law, Janet (Edmund) Rigney, and Joan (Gerald) Fogarty; also predeceased by his nieces, Sharon DiSarro and Shirley Rigney; and nephews, Daniel, John and Andrew Rigney. Bill attended St. Augustine's Elementary School and was a proud graduate of LaSalle Institute in 1951. Throughout high school Bill worked as a waiter at Verdile's Restaurant in Troy. After high school, Bill went on to work for The Watervliet Arsenal and enlisted in the Naval Reserve. During The Korean War Bill was called to active duty in the Navy and was stationed in Guam as a communication technician. Even then, he had no idea how important he was; such a humble man. During that time, he received a "Dear John Letter," and as he stated, although it didn't feel that way at the time, it was the best "Dear John Letter" he ever received. It brought him to my mother, it brought him to his love, Henrietta. After returning from the war, Bill would go on to graduate from Hudson Valley Community College and worked proudly for IBM for 36 years, retiring in 1993. To say the least, Bill was a devout Catholic and a communicant of Our Lady of the Assumption Church, where he proudly served as an usher along with fulfilling other duties for many years. He and his wife Henrietta had a love for theatre and were volunteer ushers at Proctor's Theatre for over a decade together. Dad continued on to receive his 20 Year Aisle Captain Pin before his volunteer retirement. Bill will always be remembered, by all who knew him, as a fine gentleman and a man who always put others before himself. To know him was to love him, and you were blessed and a richer person if you did. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, December 4, in Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 498 Watervliet Shaker Rd., Latham. Burial will follow in the Saratoga National Cemetery with full military honors. Calling hours will be held on Thursday, December 3, from 4 to 7 p.m. at The Bowen and Parker Bros. Funeral Home, 97 Old Loudon Rd., Latham. Those wishing to remember Bill in a special way may make memorial contributions in his name to Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 498 Watervliet Shaker Rd., Latham, NY, 12110 and/ or "The Giving Tree" at the Parish. To leave a message of condolence online please visit ParkerBrosMemorial.com





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Published by Albany Times Union from Dec. 2 to Dec. 3, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
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5 Entries

glen stafford

December 17, 2020

I worked in the IBM Poughkeepsie branch office and as IBM began to structure Trading areas, I ended up working with Bill on a day to day basis in Albany and that was a blessing. I see a number of people have made comments on Bill and his consistent steady personality and that is oh so true. We worked together 4 or 5 years and I quickly learned to rely on and trust Bill's judgment on the many different facets of the job we did. Everyone leaned on Bill's knowledge and expertise.....surely we will all miss him and the kindness he shared with everyone he met.

Bill and Carol Cowl

December 4, 2020

My wife, Carol, and I extend our deepest condolences to the Diehl family on Bill's passing. I worked with Bill at IBM Albany for many years. He was a very intelligent, caring, calm man who I was happy to call "friend". Later on my wife and I found ourselves once again in each other's company as we all ushered at Proctors. Bill was the kindest Head Usher there and everyone thought highly of him. Our prayers are with the family - the world has lost a wonderful man but now he rejoins Henrietta. God Bless Him...

bill morrissey

December 3, 2020

Bill was one of those people who you encounter once in a while, but not too often. Always Polite, and Humble with very strong character & values. I worked with him on and off the entire time I was at IBM Albany which was 20 years. I can say with 100% certainty that he completely embodied the values that once made IBM a great company and that attracted people from all walks of life. He and I once spent an evening together at 80 State Street standing guard the night the clocks turned from 1999 to the year 2000 not knowing what was in store for us or the rest of the world for that matter...but just another night for Bill Diehl! He was calm, confident and his usual unshakeable self. I'm glad I was able to share that common bond with him that night...He was one of the last of his breed. God Bless him as we were all blessed to be in his presence.

HOWARD R PICARD

December 2, 2020

My wife Ann and I are saddened on hearing of Bills passing. We first met as co-workers at IBM. I moved on and became a customer of Bills. We also crossed paths several times at Proctors and Shaker. He is/was always pleasant, caring and with class in his dealings with people. Our sincere condolences and prayers for Bills family.
Howard & Ann Picard

ed kurzynski

December 2, 2020

Bill was one of a kind a great man loved by all RIP my friend.

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Memorial Events
for William Diehl

Dec

3

Calling hours

4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Bowen & Parker Bros Funeral Home

97 Old Loudon Rd, Latham, NY 12110

Dec

4

Mass of Christian Burial

Our Lady of the Assumption Church

498 Watervliet Shaker Rd., Latham, NY

Funeral services provided by:

Bowen & Parker Bros Funeral Home

97 Old Loudon Rd, Latham, NY 12110

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