Harold Leo Diederich

Delano - It is with great sadness that the family of Harold Leo Diederich announce his passing on March 8, 2026, at 84 years of age in a facility in Delano, Minnesota. Harold was born in Brown County, Wisconsin and grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Green Bay. After high school, Harold attended Milwaukee School of Engineering and spent his career as an engineer. During his college summer break, he worked for a cement plant as a cement truck driver and was on a job site where he happened to meet the homeowner's daughter, Mary Tuyls. In the summer of 1961, he and Mary were married and had 4 children. The couple moved around for Hal's work, living in Wisconsin, Iowa, Georgia, Alabama and finally moved to Minnesota where they settled down on a farm near Howard Lake. Harold worked the majority of his career for Honeywell finally retiring after 31 years with the company but continued doing subcontract work for a few more years. He and Mary bought an RV to hit the road and traveled. They spent 2 winters in Silver Springs, Florida and loved it, making plans to return the following winter, when Mary was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in April of 2013. Harold continued to travel from Minnesota to Silver Springs over the next few years, driving back and forth. During one of his stays in Silver Springs he met Julia Boone and they later married. Harold and Julie continued to travel back and forth until 2023 when they decided to make their year-round home in Silver Springs. Harold loved to go fishing in Federal Dam and play golf in Florida with his buddies. When Harold was 70, he decided to take up biking and became quite the enthusiast. He biked an average of 15-25 miles a day and went most days while living in Florida. Harold started having memory issues that became more significant during 2024 and 2025. It was necessary to move him to a memory care unit in Florida. His wife, Julie, passed away unexpectedly in November of 2025 and Harold moved back to Minnesota to be closer to his daughters. Harold is survived by his children: Gale (Robert) Bakeberg, Kara (Kevin) Reiser, Jana (Roger) Quast and Mary (Matt) Douglas; 12 grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren. In addition to both his wives, Harold was preceded in death by his daughter Jeanette Sand, son-in-law Peter Sand, parents Gabriel and Florence Diederich and by a brother Gabriel. A private interment for Harold will be in the future at Allouez Cemetery in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Alzheimer's Association. The Chilson Funeral Home in Winsted, Minnesota is serving the family. Online condolences may be made to www.chilsonfuneralhome.com