Roland K. Tiedemann

Roland Klaus “Dutch” Tiedemann went home to his maker on Monday, January 22nd 2018 he was 89 years old. Roland was born on December 15th, 1928 at Staten Island Hospital in New York to German immigrants Klaus and Klara Tiedemann. Roland spent his childhood on Staten Island as his father searched for work. The family was very poor and the depression was a challenging time. Roland learned a love of the outdoors from his parents. He would go for long walks with his Toy Fox Terrier and would return carrying the dog as they had gone more miles than the dog could handle. His mother would take him and his siblings to Coney Island via the ferry to Brooklyn and then in an open air tram. During the summer Roland’s mother and her sister Fanny would switch kids and Roland and his brothers would spend the long summer days in Baldwin Harbor on Long Island sailing. Roland was a good student and after graduating from Port Richmond High School in 1947 he attended Wagner College SI for two years. He then transferred to the University of Idaho graduating in 1953 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Forest Management followed by 3 ½ years in the US Army including 16 months in Korea. After military service “Dutch” began his 32 year career with the Forest Service in SE Alaska on the Tongass National Forest in Juneau. While in Juneau he returned to Yale University and earned a Master’s Degree in Forest Management and also met his future wife Mary Josephine Ealey they would later marry on August 7th, 1971 in Vancouver BC. Following ten great years in Alaska Roland secured a job working for the Lake Wenatchee District in Washington State. Roland and Marie started a family while living in Lake Wenatchee. Their daughter Jane Klara was born July 23, 1973 and their son John Nicholas was born March 30, 1976. In 1978 Roland was transferred to the Wenatchee office where, stuck at a desk in the basement of the federal building he made the unconventional decision to retire early and become a stay at home dad while Marie continued to work as a Public Health Nurse. Roland was a quiet man who kept to himself, but loved his family fiercely. He taught his children to appreciate nature and the outdoors taking them backpacking, camping, hiking, skiing and ice skating on the many lakes scattered throughout the Cascades. He enjoyed being a member of the Knights of Columbus and volunteering with them. Roland enjoyed traveling with his family in their travel trailer to the national parks in the US and Canada. He also enjoyed trips to Japan to visit his son John, to Germany to visit Roland’s uncles, aunts and cousins in Bavaria and Lower Saxony as well as to Shropshire England to visit Mary’s family. A cruise on the Rhine River at Christmas time and a trip to Rome and the Vatican were exceptional. Roland found the forest to be his sanctuary and he shared this love throughout the years with his family. He was a man of few words, but he had a heart as big as the ocean and would go to the ends of the world for you if you let him. In 2007 his first grandchild Jayna Morning Davis was born and he dedicated himself to being the most incredibly attentive and interactive papa ever. Jayna adored her papa and enjoyed their moments going for walks and playing poker BUT she especially liked when papa made her pancakes a staple of his own childhood he definitely knew how to make a mean pancake. In 2017 his second grandchild Declan Tashiro Tiedemann was born and, although he will never know his papa, he will carry on his name and make him very proud. Roland is survived by his loving wife Mary and their two children Jane Davis of East Wenatchee and John Tiedemann and his wife Tracey of Pleasant Hill, CA; his granddaughter Jayna and Grandson Declan; his sister Rosalinde Milazzo of Chapel Hill NC; his brother Anton Tiedemann and wife Elizabeth Tiedemann of Staten Island, NY; Sister-in-Law Claire Tiedemann of Oceanside, CA; Brother in law Fred Ealey and wife Wendy of Bridgnorth England; Brother in law Bill Barritt of Bridgnorth England; numerous nieces and nephews and friends who will all miss him dearly. He was preceded in death by his father Klaus and mother Klara Tiedemann; his daughter Ann Tiedemann; his brother Norbert Tiedemann and his son in law Quincy Davis. The funeral mass will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, January 26th 2018 at St Josephs Catholic church in Wenatchee with a reception to follow. May “Dutch” rest in peace and find shelter with the angels until we meet again.

Tributes

Roland K. Tiedemann

December 15, 1928 - January 22, 2018