After 21 years of teaching agriculture, Wayne Dietert will retire at the end of the school year.

“I will miss my fellow teachers and the lots of friends that I’ve  made at the school,” Dietert said.

Friends such as career and technology department chair Brenda Goade will miss his presence.

“He was always there for the kids,” Goad said. “He made sure their animals were taken care of. He taught welding and was in the shop with them, took care of the classroom and tried to go to every stock show that he could.”

Dietert, along with his classroom duties, helped lead the ag program.

“I have worked with Mr. Dietert for 12 years as a colleague,” assistant principal Dean Hofer said. “He’s a man who wears a lot of hats. When something ag-related comes up, we go to him. He usually has an answer. I will miss his leadership the most.”  

Once retired, Deitert plans on spending time with his grandkids, traveling and possibly getting a part-time job.

“I will also live on the ranch that my family owns,” Dietert said. “I will operate the farm, bale hay and grow crops.”

The ranch has been in his family for 150 years.

“We can document the ownership back to 1902, but my family has been here from Germany since 1860,” he said. “We’re trying to find earlier documentation.”

He said he hoped his students would take good work ethics with them when they left his class.

“It is important to be ethical when working,” he said, “also to have honesty and to work hard to reach goals.”