Marleena Dieterich

Former West Coast resident and Delano High School senior Marleena Anna Dieterich, 18, tragically died March 2nd 2019 in an automotive collision on Highway 12 near her home of Delano, Minnesota.

Marleena was born in Seattle, Washington at the Swedish Medical Center on January 9, 2001. She moved to Delano, Minnesota in 2009.

She was an avid swimmer, received her black belt in Tae Kwon Do in 2014, represented Minnesota multiple times at the global level in Destination Imagination, and is captain of the Delano cheer team.

Performing arts are part of her soul. Marleena loved to sing, play the piano, guitar, and french horn, and she pursued dancing as often as she could.

Marleena longed to experience world cultures. Her travels included Japan and Spain. Marleena had plans on traveling to Europe, China, and Africa after high school. When she couldn't travel, she continued to experience different cultures by hosting exchange students from Spain and Germany. It was her goal to become a polyglot, and she was studying Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese.

She was determined to pursue a Bioscience degree at the University of East Anglia because she felt a deep need to help the living conquer suffering. Marleena's desire to help those in need motivated her to become an organ donor, and her beneficence is still felt by the people who received her gifts of life.

Marleena's life was cut short, but those who were touched by her understand the quality of existence far exceeds the length of time in which one lives. Her determination, steadfast loyalty, and grit was only matched by her charity, lightheartedness, and genuine beauty.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel."
-- Maya Angelou

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the World Wildlife (https://www.worldwildlife.org/) Fund in Marleena's name.