DIETERLE, RICHARD VAN AKKEREN
Richard Van Akkeren Dieterle passed away after a difficult battle with cancer at his beloved Ann Arbor Township farm on 2/28/12, surrounded by family and friends. He was born in Ann Arbor on December 24, 1941 to Jennie Van Akkeren Dieterle and Robert Richard Dieterle. Richard is survived by his wife, Karen L. Hertenstein, daughter, Elizabeth Caroline Dieterle of Phoenix, A.Z., son, Carl Jarrett Dieterle of Washington D.C., and sister, Caroline Dieterle of Iowa City, I.A. He is also survived by three precious grandchildren, Alexander, Mila and Eva Srejic of Phoenix, as well as a cousin, Richard (Carroll) Walterhouse of Ann Arbor. 
Richard spent his childhood days playing with the children of farm neighbors, hunting small game after school and riding Silver, his strawberry roan pony. He attended the one-room Foster School, which was within walking distance of his farm, until middle school, when it was closed and the students were incorporated into the Ann Arbor Public School District. Richard loved to share memories of his rural upbringing. He met his lifelong friends Lloyd Braun and Al Honke on the junior high school bus. High school days brought more hunting, running track (hurdles) and becoming an outstanding student of German, as well as a violinist. Richard attended the University of Michigan and was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He graduated with a degree in Anthropology before enrolling in the University of Michigan's Medical School, from which he graduated in 1969. This was also the year he started The RFD Boys, a bluegrass band in which he was the fiddle player and emcee. Richard did his internship at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids and returned to the University of Michigan for his pathology residency. He served as a Major in the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, O.H. from 1973-75. 
In 1975, Richard returned to live at his childhood farm and began working in the Pathology Department at Allegiance Healthcare System (formerly Foote Hospital) in Jackson, MI. He became Director of Pathology in 1990 and retired in June of 2009. Richard enjoyed his physician colleagues and was forever inspired by the lab personnel he had the privilege to work with during those years. In 1966, Richard began a 45-year service to Ann Arbor Township, first as a volunteer fireman and township constable for 22 years, followed by 23 additional years as an Ann Arbor Township Trustee. Like his other endeavors, Richard formed close bonds with his fellow trustees, working to preserve farmland around Ann Arbor. 
Over 42 years, the RFD Boys (consisting of the original four members) played at Mr. Floods Party, Lums, The Pretzel Bell and finally found their home at The Ark acoustical music venue. The Band played for heads of state and crossed the oceans for gigs in Germany, Austria, Monaco, and Australia. Summers were filled with gigs in northern Michigan, which provided Richard with a wonderful array of bluegrass fans, as well as a chance to find respite in his Northport, MI cottage. Richard loved bluegrass music and found his spirit and soul in the Bill Monroe and Kenny Baker traditions. He reveled in the numerous and culturally varied fans of his music. Richard was known for his on-stage comedic humor and his extraordinary sense of timing as the RFD Boys' emcee. His last, and proudest, contribution to the art form was an instrumental bluegrass CD of his own compositions, which he completed weeks before his death. 
The family will receive friends at the Nie Family Funeral Home, Liberty Road Chapel, 3767 W. Liberty Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 on Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 2-4 pm and 5-8 pm. A funeral service for Richard will be held on March 4, 2012 at 2 pm at Webster United Church of Christ, 5484 Webster Church Road, Dexter, Michigan 48130. Richard would be proud to have memorials sent to The Ark at 316 South Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 or Webster Historical Society, P.O. Box 253, Dexter, MI 48130. Please visit Richard's personal webpage at www.niefuneralhomes.com to leave a memory.