William Werner Diederich

1939 - 2025

William Werner Diederich

August 25, 1939 - March 8, 2025

MIDDLETON - William Werner Diederich, 85, died March 8, 2025, at Middleton Commons, where for 15 months he had enjoyed the company of a community as well as the privacy of his own space--proudly gay, sober and ecumenically Catholic.

Born August 25, 1939, in Waunakee, Bill was the third and youngest son of Bernard Peter Diederich, who owned the downtown meat market, and Lillian Elizabeth Diederich, née Dresen, who under the pseudonym Margery had been the Protestant primary love interest of Catholic August Derleth, the Sauk City author who described their forbidden teenage romance in "Evening in Spring" (1941). In real life Lillian converted to Catholicism to marry Bernard.

Bill grew up with brothers Richard and Robert in the apartment above their parents' deli--which still operates as Fred's Village Market--amidst the tight community of families that ran the hardware, pharmacy and other downtown enterprises. He despised butchering chickens and cutting meat, preferring naturally to play basketball behind the shop or basement card games with neighborhood friends. He graduated from Waunakee High, where his accomplishments included making what today would be 3-point shots for the basketball team.

In a Madison bar in 1970, Bill met James R. Green from Middleton, who in the early 1970s entered treatment and remained sober the rest of his life; Bill too learned to control his drinking. The Divine Word Missionaries had stationed Jim in Rome during the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council. Though he left the Order, Jim retained his religious fervor for social justice. Together for 48 years, activists "Jim 'n Bill" inspired hundreds of people to "come out" of their closets and live openly as God had made them. They traveled the country and twice to Europe to meetings of social activists. Less frequently, actual vacations took them to Las Vegas and destinations where they enjoyed gambling on a strict budget. Bill expressed his fondness for numbers through card games with friends, casinos, and scratch-off lottery tickets. They and 38 others lost most all possessions in a 1984 blaze that destroyed their apartment building. They rebounded quickly with gifts of teddy bears from well-wishers which became a lifetime collecting passion.

Pre-Internet, their home and phone line offered refuge to men and women fleeing rural areas to find themselves, some suicidal. Jim started Alcoholics Anonymous groups reaching out specifically to clergy and to LGBT people. Other volunteers stood back while Bill employed skills from his mail room career at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue to sort, group and label newsletter mailings to qualify for bulk postal rates. They lived modestly to enable generosity to those they perceived as poor. Bill readily expressed initial frustration at restaurant servers, only to learn their life circumstances by meal's end and to leave generous tips.

Surviving Bill are his brother, Robert; nephews, Mark (Kristina) Diederich and Scott (Debbie) Diederich; niece, Joy (David) Van De Weerd; the families of great-nieces, Monica (Curtis) Willison, Arin Diederich and Amanda Matchey; and great-nephews, Mark (Jenny) Diederich, Tim Diederich, and Josh Matchey; and hosts of people who knew him through Middleton Crossing, Holy Wisdom Monastery, Airport Road Kwik Trip, the Luke House homeless meal program, and organizations such as ID-Madison, Dignity/USA, and New Ways Ministry.

Jim died in 2018. Bill's parents; and oldest brother, Richard, also preceded him in death.

In lieu of flowers, Bill's friends and family recommend gifts to Holy Wisdom Monastery, DignityUSA, or the OutReach LGBTQ Community Center in Madison, and extra gestures of kindness to clerks and servers in our lives.

A visitation is planned at Holy Wisdom Monastery, 4200 County Road M, Middleton, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, followed by the funeral service and luncheon. Burial beside Jim at Resurrection Cemetery, Madison, will take place the following day at 10 a.m. The service will be live-streamed. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson West

Funeral & Cremation Care

7435 University Ave.

(608) 831-6761