Millard Homer Diesch

Born January 4, 1940 in Walker, MN, Mill grew up in rural Longville, MN where his parents, Ferdinand and Lu, owned an operated a resort on Little Boy Lake.    He and his parents and his sister Shirley also lived briefly in Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas, and California, but most of their time was spent in Longville, part of Minnesota?s Lake Country.    Attending Longville?s elementary and high school, Mill went on to attend Bemidji State College in Bemidji, MN, then enlisted in the military in January of 1962.  After basic training in the Great Lakes area, Mill served aboard the USS MT. KATMAI in such areas as Guam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and just off the Vietnam coast.   In 1964 Mill married Geraldine Bergh and the young couple moved to Encino, CA.   From 1964-1965 Mill served aboard ship and commuted weekends to Encino until his next major tour of duty began in April, 1965.    Returning to civilian life in late December, 1965, Mill joined Geraldine in Owatonna, MN.  In July, 1966, Mill became a new employee of IBM in Rochester, MN.  Mill, Geraldine and son Timothy resided for several years in Owatonna until 1979, when they moved to Mantorville, MN to be closer to Mill?s work.  In 1984, Mill took the opportunity offered by IBM to transfer to Carlisle, PA and later worked at IBM?s Mechanicsburg, PA site.   In December of 1993, Mill and Geraldine moved to Prescott Valley, AZ where Mill worked briefly for ACE before joining the then new company, SHUTTLE-?U?.  There he enjoyed working in various capacities until illness forced him to retire in late February, 2006.   Mill died April 26, 2006 at the VA Hospice Care Unit, VA Hospital in Prescott, AZ. He is survived by his wife Geraldine; his son Timothy; one sister, Shirley Shaw of Longville, MN; nieces and a nephew and their families. He was preceded in death by his parents.