Harold "Bud" Diekemper

Harold "Bud" Diekemper, 92, of Beckemeyer, died at 5:02 p.m. June 30 at the Carlyle Healthcare Center from complications of cancer.
The son of Leander and Lorena (nee, Stokes) Diekemper, he was born Aug. 28, 1919. Aside from attending Saint Louis University and his military service, Mr. Diekemper was a lifelong resident of Beckemeyer, noted Clinton County businessman, civic leader and decorated World War II veteran.
A 1937 graduate of Carlyle High School, Mr. Diekemper also graduated from Saint Louis University in May 1941 with degrees in Economics and Business Administration. While at Saint Louis University, Mr. Diekemper played three years on the Billikens varsity basketball squad.
He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserves in 1942 where he served as a naval officer rising to the rank of Lieutenant J.G. He became a catapult officer on the escort aircraft carrier USS Ommaney Bay (CVE 79), serving in the South Pacific theatre of World War II, including missions off the Philippine Islands.
The Ommaney Bay saw combat off the Peleliu and Anguar islands and in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The carrier was hit by a Japanese suicide plane, known in military jargon of the time as a "Kamikaze," in the Sulu Sea during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf, Jan. 4, 1945, and was sunk.
After assignment to the Brooklyn Navy Yards later that year, Mr. Diekemper met his future bride, Julia A. Roche. They were married on January 10, 1948 in New York City and she preceded him in death June 29, 1968.
Mr. Diekemper took over his family's business upon his father's passing in August 1955, a retail store, L.H. Diekemper and Company, which closed in 1984 upon his retirement.
For 18 years, Mr. Diekemper served as a member of the Village of Beckemeyer Board of Trustees, five terms.
Mr. Diekemper also invested in and owned local farms in the Beaver Prairie and Flat Branch areas of Clinton County as well as owning rental property. He was an active investor in commodities throughout his adult life, still executing trades a few months prior to his passing.
Mr. Diekemper is survived by two sons, Gerald of Wellsville, Mo., and Lee of St. Petersburg, Fla. He is also survived by a grandson, a great-grandson, a great-granddaughter, two nieces and three nephews. Bud was preceded in death by his parents; wife; two sons: Lawrence and Charles; and his sister: Ruth Gouy.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 10:00 A.M. at St. Anthony Church in Beckemeyer with Fr. George Mauck officiating. The interment will follow at St. Mary Cemetery in Carlyle with military rites accorded.
Friends may visit with the family at the Frerker Funeral Home on Monday, July 9, 2012 from 6 to 8:00 P.M. or on Tuesday from 8:00 until 9:30 A.M..
In lieu of flowers the Diekemper family suggest expressions of sympathy may be made to Right to Life or the American Diabetes Association or the charity of the donor’s choice and those will be received at the Frerker Funeral Home which is serving the family.
Condolences and memories of Bud may be left for the Diekemper family by visiting www.frerkerfuneral.com .