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Letter to the editor

105 and still the center of attention

By TIMES STAFF
Published July 19, 2007

On June 30, the family of Ella Nothacker Dietz came to the Palm Harbor home she shares with her daughter, Ruth Adams, to celebrate her 105th birthday.

Her son, Howard Nothacker of Port Richey, and other daughter, Michelle McKinney of Wintergreen, Va., were there along with many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The next day family, friends and neighbors gathered to wish her well. Youngsters splashed in the pool and partygoers helped themselves to delicious pot luck dishes. McKinney read a moving life story about her mother out loud and her husband, George, sang Bless This House.

The eldest of 13 children, Mrs. Dietz was born in Bavaria, Germany, on June 30, 1902. She was 20 when she passed through Ellis Island, sponsored by an uncle who had preceded her to the United States. She learned English by going to the movies and got a job as a cook.

Mrs. Dietz always has taken pride her cooking skills.

"That's what she tells me she misses most of all, " said Ruth Adams, with whom Mrs. Dietz has lived for the past 4 1/2 years. "She remembers every recipe by heart and reminds me 'Did you put in the oregano? That recipe needs two teaspoons of basil'. "

Her mother chuckled.

"She tells me exactly how to cook things, as if I haven't been cooking for 50 years!" Adams says.

Five years after immigrating, Ella met her first husband, Fred Nothacker, in Syracuse, N. Y., and became a full-time homemaker after they married. They lived in Syracuse for 50 years. All three Nothacker children were born there.

In 1965, seven years after being widowed, she married Fred Dietz and they moved to Florida. After he died in 1992, Mrs. Dietz continued to live alone in Highland Lakes until her 100th year.

Still mentally alert, Mrs. Dietz enjoys visits from friends and family. She is her family's favorite storyteller, recounting tales of her life in a way "that puts you right there with her," says granddaughter, Bonnie Stevens, 48.

Ruth Adams says her mother's "eyesight and hearing aren't what they used to be, but her doctor says she's healthier than he is."

Besides her three children, Mrs. Dietz has seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Many of them came to honor her remarkably long and productive life.

Times staff photographer Julia Kumari Drapkin contributed to this article.

Paul and Susanna Rehs of Safety Harbor recently celebrated their 50th anniversary aboard the Starlight Princess paddle boat with many relatives and their families, ex-Army buddies and other friends.

Paul met Susanna in her native Amsterdam, Holland, while on furlough from the U.S. Army. They were married June 5, 1957, at the Amsterdam City Hall. The church ceremony was held June 8, 1957, at St. Ignatius Church, Amsterdam.

The couple lived in Pirmasens, Germany, for a year, where Paul was stationed. They then relocated to Wheaton, Ill., where she found work as an accountant and Paul worked for UPS as a manager.

They came here in 1976 and for the next eight years owned the Dutch Inn Lounge and Liquor Store in Indian Rocks Beach.

Paul is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10094, Indian Rocks Beach.

The Rehs have three children, Michael, Deboran and Thomas; five grandchildren, Jennifer, Raymond, Amanda, Marianne and Jordan; and two great-grandchildren, Ashlynn and Nicholas.

[Last modified July 18, 2007, 22:02:28]