Michael Paul Diede

Michael Paul Diede went to be with his Savior Jesus in the early hours of Sunday, August 25, 2024 at the age of 64 years and 11 days. 

Visitation will be 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a 7 p.m. prayer service, Wednesday, August 28 at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Yankton.

Memorial service will be 10:30 a.m., with military honors, Thursday, August 29 at Christ the King. Interment will be 1:15 p.m. at the Menno Cemetery. 

Michael Paul Diede was born to Raymond A. and June (Larson) Diede on August 14,1960 in Yankton, SD, the oldest of seven children. He was both baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church, Scotland, SD. He attended Hillcrest country school, rural Utica, SD, through the 6th grade, then attended middle school and high school in Scotland, SD, where he graduated from in 1978. After graduation, Mike enlisted in the SD National Guard serving out of the Springfield unit and later transferring to the 147 Charlie Battery Yankton Unit until his retirement in 1999 after 20 years of service. Mike was united in marriage to Deloris Carol Mehlhaf on August 23, 1980, at Zion Reformed Church, Menno, SD. God blessed them with two children – a son, Troy and a daughter, Shayna. 

Mike worked at Morgan Manufacturing for a few years and then at Kolberg-Astec where he retired, at the age of 60, after 33 years of working as a quality inspector. 

He served on numerous boards including Christ the King Lutheran Church council, SD Lutheran Secretariat, Siouxland Teens Encounter Christ, and was a member of the American Legion.

“Retiring” gave him the opportunity to start his own handyman business – fixing and building numerous things for many people, which he was very talented at. He also enjoyed gardening and woodworking in his spare time and loved his Christian music which could often be heard in the background in his garage or wherever he was. Retirement also gave him more time to go fishing, which was high on his list of things he loved to do. He learned the love of fishing from his dad and passed it on to his children and to his grandchildren. He treasured the fishing trips and team competitions he took with his son and family which took them to many states, but it was about so much more than just fishing. In 2008, Mike and Dee were privileged to take their most memorable and cherished trip to Israel where they walked in the footsteps of Jesus. Some years prior to that, Mike grew much deeper in his faith, and it became a huge part of everything he did. It was after a Via de Cristo (Way of Christ) retreat weekend where he really started to realize his purpose and the importance of a relationship with Jesus and with Christian community. Soon after, he and Dee became highly involved with TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) and served upwards of 60 weekends encouraging teens to grow in their walk with Christ. Mike also attended many VDC weekends continuing to foster his faith. His love for kids has always been a huge part of who he was, whether with his own kids, his nieces and nephews, or now with his own grandchildren who he loved deeply – he had a special way with all of them, and he remained a big kid at heart – always trying to get a smile or a giggle out of them. His biggest goal, though, was that people would come to know Jesus like he had and that they would experience the joy and hope he had found in a relationship with him. 

Blessed to have shared Mike’s life are his loving wife of 44 years, Deloris Diede of Yankton; children: Troy (Jen) Diede and Shayna (Brady) Quamen all of Sioux Falls; grandchildren: Gabriela, Makiah, and Leo Diede, Koy and Kade Quamen – all of Sioux Falls; mother, June Diede of Menno; siblings: Tammy (Terry) Miller of Menno, Shelley (Kevin Steckler) of Garretson, Ron (Kristi) Diede of Menno, Amy (Dave) Fuhrer of Lesterville, Jeremy (Cameo) Diede of Yankton, Emily (Mark) Sayler of Menno; numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his father, Raymond A. Diede; his father-in-law, Victor Mehlhaf; mothers-in-law, Viola Mehlhaf and Arlene Mehlhaf; uncles, Don Diede and Frank Tjeerdsma; aunts, Norene Tjeerdsma and Carol Ackerman; nephew, Drake Mehlhaf; cousins – Kenny, Donnie and Larry Ackerman and Kenneth Tjeerdsma.