Hugo Eduard Dietrich

Aug 29, 1928 -

Jul 12, 2020

Hugo Eduard Dietrich was born on Aug. 29, 1928, in St. Gallen, in the northeast of Switzerland. His father was a radio technician, his mother, a seamstress. Two years after the birth of his sister Rosa Paula in 1937, the family moved to Rheineck, a small town bordering Austria. It is only a shallow Rhine canal at a point that separated Switzerland during World War II from bombing targets in the nearby Austrian town. The mobilization of the Swiss Army called Hugo's father to be border control - unarmed on bicycle - and Hugo as a civil guard to patrol enemy aircraft seized at the nearby airport Altenrhein.

After the war, the family moved back to St. Gallen, where Hugo began his apprenticeship as a radio technician, alongside his father in a radio repair shop. It is during this time that Hugo discovered mountain climbing, also under his fathers' initiative. Rock climbing at that time was a wild, badly secured and ill-equipped sport. Hugo would say in his later years that had he remained in Switzerland he would have followed many of his climbing partners to their graves.

In the early 1950s, Hugo decided to emigrate to Montreal, Canada. With two Swiss colleagues he moved north, to Mont Joli at the St. Lawrence River, which was a small airport serving as hub for pioneering the northeast Quebec. A railroad was being built around Knob Lake - today's Schefferville - at the border of Labrador, for transporting iron ore, and that's where Hugo worked for some years. With his savings he began his studies at the Milwaukee School of Engineering – then quit when the money ran out. He returned to Montreal and found work with Wheeler Airlines.

It is from his arrival in Mont Joli that he and his Swiss colleagues had found open doors in the home of the McEwing family in nearby Metis Beach. There were four young ladies willing to entertain them which eventually lead to two happy marriages, among one between Hugo and the youngest twin Daisy. Hugo found employment with ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization, in the form of an assignment in the Belgian Congo. Since its independence from colonial rule in 1960, political unrest had become violent and Daisy moved home again. Three years later in 1963, Hugo had to leave the country amidst its civil war and returned to Canada.

Where do Daisy and Hugo wish to live thereafter? In 1964, they take off in their car, cross the continent, in search of that ideal place. Where do they end up? Alaska. A distant relative of Daisy lived in Anchorage and that's where the two decided to settle. Both enjoyed nature, outdoor sports and freedom. In 1966, a terrible kayaking accident took Daisy's life while paddling the Matanuska River. Hugo took his wife back to Metis Beach in her casket after only 6 years of marriage.

Hugo picked up the threads, determined to stay in Alaska. He took on night shifts at Wien Airlines as chief mechanic of electrical systems. In his spare time, Hugo taught troubleshooting for aviation systems at the University of Alaska's Aviation Department for over 15 years. He ended up buying a Piper Cub on floats during this time. When the plane didn't have its floats, Hugo had the plane on skis and climbed and skied many peaks in Alaska over the years including the first ski ascent and descent of Mount Logan in Canada; made expeditions on land, and on rivers together with Sepp Weber, Tom Mitchell and with visiting friends from Europe. Two significant relationships ensued breaking his loneliness. First, with Hanne Egloff. After Hanne moved out of state, Leni swept Hugo off his feet. Both women were adventurous and traveled to foreign places and further explored Alaska with him. Hugo climbed Kilimanjaro on one of his African trips. In later years, long journeys were made in his Tioga Motorhome. He enjoyed flying with his second plane, until his advancing years told him that his flying days were over and, saddened, watched floatplanes take off from Lake Hood.

Hugo enjoyed this full life well into his late 80s, when several operations begin to slow him down. The rugged Alaskan he had become fought against all these weaknesses. Hugo passed on July 12, 2020. He is survived by his sister, Rose in Switzerland; nieces and nephews in Canada; and his ever-cherished German shepherd, Molly. Due to COVID-19, a small private memorial will be held later this fall.