Second born son (of 12 children) to Apple Growers John & Elizabeth Diede, immigrants from Russia in the early 1900's due to the Bolshevik Revolution. Born in Saskatchewan Canada. Raised in Wenatchee, Washington.
He excelled in basketball at Sunnyslope High School. They were state champions...with only 5 players on the team! He met his beloved Ruth Jackson Diede in high school. They were married in 1936. (I saw some of the letters...Grandma had him wrapped around her finger!) In the early years of their marriage, Grandpa drove a tanker trunk and later purchased an apple orchard in Sunnyslope, joining his siblings and parents in the apple industry. Herb and Ruth had 3 children, Herb, Deanna (my mom) and Susan.
Grandpa was credited with propogating a new variety of apple that he fondly called the Gregory apple - after my brother - that later became known as the "Starking-Diede Red". He spent time with Skookum Growers, a company co-founded by his father. He was a very successful grower with five ranches. His hobby was breeding Royal Bloodline Arabian Horses.
When Ruth passed away in 1975 Grandpa was heartbroken. When he would come to visit, we would walk his dogs together and he would sometimes fall behind and I could hear him crying softly. She was truly his soulmate and he never remarried.
Grandpa was like a Timex...he kept a licking but kept on ticking. Before succumbing to heart failure in 2001 Grandpa endured open heart surgery, colon cancer, skin cancer, a series of mini strokes AND, in 1986, he was on his tractor that was hit by a drunk driver. The tractor was split in half and the car knocked down a tree. Grandpa suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, but overcame these with months of rehabilitation - he had to learn to walk and talk all over again. He was a stubborn, yet favorite patient of this nurses...saying "Here comes the revolution!" when they would walk into his room. After his recovery, Grandpa continued raising his horses and working the orchards up until the final years of his life.
The day before he died, Grandpa rallied a bit when seeing his family at his bedside saying "this is how it should be". His final words were "We go". And, he went!
He excelled in basketball at Sunnyslope High School. They were state champions...with only 5 players on the team! He met his beloved Ruth Jackson Diede in high school. They were married in 1936. (I saw some of the letters...Grandma had him wrapped around her finger!) In the early years of their marriage, Grandpa drove a tanker trunk and later purchased an apple orchard in Sunnyslope, joining his siblings and parents in the apple industry. Herb and Ruth had 3 children, Herb, Deanna (my mom) and Susan.
Grandpa was credited with propogating a new variety of apple that he fondly called the Gregory apple - after my brother - that later became known as the "Starking-Diede Red". He spent time with Skookum Growers, a company co-founded by his father. He was a very successful grower with five ranches. His hobby was breeding Royal Bloodline Arabian Horses.
When Ruth passed away in 1975 Grandpa was heartbroken. When he would come to visit, we would walk his dogs together and he would sometimes fall behind and I could hear him crying softly. She was truly his soulmate and he never remarried.
Grandpa was like a Timex...he kept a licking but kept on ticking. Before succumbing to heart failure in 2001 Grandpa endured open heart surgery, colon cancer, skin cancer, a series of mini strokes AND, in 1986, he was on his tractor that was hit by a drunk driver. The tractor was split in half and the car knocked down a tree. Grandpa suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, but overcame these with months of rehabilitation - he had to learn to walk and talk all over again. He was a stubborn, yet favorite patient of this nurses...saying "Here comes the revolution!" when they would walk into his room. After his recovery, Grandpa continued raising his horses and working the orchards up until the final years of his life.
The day before he died, Grandpa rallied a bit when seeing his family at his bedside saying "this is how it should be". His final words were "We go". And, he went!
Second born son (of 12 children) to Apple Growers John & Elizabeth Diede, immigrants from Russia in the early 1900's due to the Bolshevik Revolution. Born in Saskatchewan Canada. Raised in Wenatchee, Washington.
He excelled in basketball at Sunnyslope High School. They were state champions...with only 5 players on the team! He met his beloved Ruth Jackson Diede in high school. They were married in 1936. (I saw some of the letters...Grandma had him wrapped around her finger!) In the early years of their marriage, Grandpa drove a tanker trunk and later purchased an apple orchard in Sunnyslope, joining his siblings and parents in the apple industry. Herb and Ruth had 3 children, Herb, Deanna (my mom) and Susan.
Grandpa was credited with propogating a new variety of apple that he fondly called the Gregory apple - after my brother - that later became known as the "Starking-Diede Red". He spent time with Skookum Growers, a company co-founded by his father. He was a very successful grower with five ranches. His hobby was breeding Royal Bloodline Arabian Horses.
When Ruth passed away in 1975 Grandpa was heartbroken. When he would come to visit, we would walk his dogs together and he would sometimes fall behind and I could hear him crying softly. She was truly his soulmate and he never remarried.
Grandpa was like a Timex...he kept a licking but kept on ticking. Before succumbing to heart failure in 2001 Grandpa endured open heart surgery, colon cancer, skin cancer, a series of mini strokes AND, in 1986, he was on his tractor that was hit by a drunk driver. The tractor was split in half and the car knocked down a tree. Grandpa suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, but overcame these with months of rehabilitation - he had to learn to walk and talk all over again. He was a stubborn, yet favorite patient of this nurses...saying "Here comes the revolution!" when they would walk into his room. After his recovery, Grandpa continued raising his horses and working the orchards up until the final years of his life.
The day before he died, Grandpa rallied a bit when seeing his family at his bedside saying "this is how it should be". His final words were "We go". And, he went!
He excelled in basketball at Sunnyslope High School. They were state champions...with only 5 players on the team! He met his beloved Ruth Jackson Diede in high school. They were married in 1936. (I saw some of the letters...Grandma had him wrapped around her finger!) In the early years of their marriage, Grandpa drove a tanker trunk and later purchased an apple orchard in Sunnyslope, joining his siblings and parents in the apple industry. Herb and Ruth had 3 children, Herb, Deanna (my mom) and Susan.
Grandpa was credited with propogating a new variety of apple that he fondly called the Gregory apple - after my brother - that later became known as the "Starking-Diede Red". He spent time with Skookum Growers, a company co-founded by his father. He was a very successful grower with five ranches. His hobby was breeding Royal Bloodline Arabian Horses.
When Ruth passed away in 1975 Grandpa was heartbroken. When he would come to visit, we would walk his dogs together and he would sometimes fall behind and I could hear him crying softly. She was truly his soulmate and he never remarried.
Grandpa was like a Timex...he kept a licking but kept on ticking. Before succumbing to heart failure in 2001 Grandpa endured open heart surgery, colon cancer, skin cancer, a series of mini strokes AND, in 1986, he was on his tractor that was hit by a drunk driver. The tractor was split in half and the car knocked down a tree. Grandpa suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, but overcame these with months of rehabilitation - he had to learn to walk and talk all over again. He was a stubborn, yet favorite patient of this nurses...saying "Here comes the revolution!" when they would walk into his room. After his recovery, Grandpa continued raising his horses and working the orchards up until the final years of his life.
The day before he died, Grandpa rallied a bit when seeing his family at his bedside saying "this is how it should be". His final words were "We go". And, he went!
