John W. Diedenhofen Jr. passed away in his sleep with his wife, Corrine, by his side at their home in Reno, NV, on 11 June 2020. He was 80 years old.
After graduating from high school in New Ulm, MN, “Willie” attended the University of Minnesota prior to receiving his congressional appointment to the Naval Academy. At Annapolis, he captained the golf team and excelled at academics and graduated with the Eighth Company.
His commissioning in 1962 launched him into the diesel submarine service, and he served our country on CATFISH (SS-339) and TIRU (SS-416).
Following completion of his Navy tours in 1967, he initially settled in Minneapolis, MN, and eventually moved to San Francisco, CA. He led in business as a senior executive, starting from computing’s early days by taking on marketing roles of increasing scope and complexity at IBM, Itel, National Semiconductor, Memorex, Masstor, National Advanced Systems and Hitachi Data Systems.
Upon his retirement, John continued to mentor rising business leaders through his involvement with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) chapter in Reno.
When John and Corrine retired to Reno in 2000, they were embraced by their Arrowcreek neighbors and the Hope Community church congregation. His Christian faith and friendships were of the utmost importance to him. John’s special skill was in making new friends and keeping old ones. He had a smile and greeting for everyone he met.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Eleanor “Lonnie”; his sister, Karen Anne “Anna”; and his brother, Tom “Dieder.” He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Corrine Diedenhofen of Reno, NV; stepdaughter, Teri Taylor of Sacramento, CA; his children, Lara Fletcher (Chris) of Austin, TX, and John Diedenhofen of San Diego, CA; and their mother, Sheryl (née Baker); seven grandchildren, Skye and Autumn Taylor, Madeleine and Thomas Fletcher, and Jeffrey, Ashley and Tyler Diedenhofen; his late brother’s wife, Josephine; his nephew, Tom; and his niece, Michelle.
John was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend. He will be greatly missed by all whose lives he touched.
As per his wishes, John will be cremated with a portion of his ashes remaining in Reno and another portion scattered near the golf course at Pebble Beach, CA, that he loved so much.
The Diedenhofen Family