Raymond Dietlein

Mass of Christian Burial for Father Raymond Dietlein, OSB, 88, of Richardton, will be held at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at the Assumption Abbey in Richardton with Father Thomas Wordekemper, OSB, celebrating. Burial will follow in the Assumption Abbey Cemetery.


A vigil service for Father Raymond will take place at 7:00 p.m., Monday, October 30, 2017 at the Assumption Abbey.


Father Raymond passed away, Wednesday, October 25, 2017 at St. Benedicts Health Center in Dickinson.


Father Raymond (Francis) Dietlein, OSB, died late Wednesday afternoon, October 25, 2017, at St. Benedict’s Health Center in Dickinson, ND, after three years of residence in that care facility.


Francis Dietlein was born on September 26, 1929, in Braddock, ND, to Peter and Regina (Heembrock) Dietlein. After completing his elementary education in a rural school near Braddock, he came to Assumption Abbey where he finished high school and junior college. He entered the abbey novitiate in 1948 and was given the name Raymond. He made his profession of vows in 1949. After graduating from Saint Martin’s College in Lacey, WA, in 1951, he studied Theology at Assumption Abbey and was ordained a priest by Bishop Lambert Hoch in 1954.


Fr. Raymond’s first assignment after ordination was to manage the Abbey print shop. In 1955 he became assistant Procurator and Instructor to the lay brothers. The following year, he needed heart surgery. He was only 27 years old. On December 10, 1956, he underwent open-heart surgery at the University of Minnesota Heart Hospital in Minneapolis. He suffered a stroke during the operation due to an air block, and he remained in a coma for ten days. After many months of rehabilitation he recovered, although he always had some impairment in movement.


Fr. Raymond was appointed pastor of St. Clement’s Parish, Haymarsh, ND, in December of 1963. Then, in 1967, he was appointed to Sacred Heart Parish in Solen, ND, with its mission of Odense. In 1971, he became chaplain at Mercy Hospital, Devils Lake, ND, where he ministered until 1979. He returned that year to the Abbey to work in the Abbey Press and in the woodcraft shop. He also served in the Visitors Center answering the telephone, served as
stipendarius,
and took his regular turn as chaplain to the Benedictine Sisters at Sacred Heart Monastery
.
Initially, he did regular weekend work—especially at St. Patrick’s Church in Dickinson, ND—but as the years went by Fr. Raymond was forced to discontinue pastoral work. His long and generous service in the Abbey Visitors Center also decreased and was finally given to others.


Despite the effects of his condition, Fr. Raymond never complained. He was ever-faithful to the daily round of monastic prayer and liturgy. Polite and soft-spoken, he was a kind-hearted confessor to many, and a good example in his unshakable hope in improvement, especially in his daily workout sessions in the exercise room which kept him limber and his bones strong. Despite his many falls, he never suffered a fracture.


Fr. Raymond is survived by his brother, Fr. Damian (Leo) Dietlein, OSB; community members of Assumption Abbey; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, Marie (Adolph) Feyereisen, and Elizabeth (Victor) Regner; and brother, Raymond (Grace Mueller) Dietlein.


Burial Date: October 31, 2017
Funeral Home Dickinson, ND

Mass of Christian Burial: 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, October 31, 2017, Assumption Abbey, Richardton
Vigil Service: 7:00 p.m., Monday, October 30, 2017, Assumption Abbey, Richardton