Avery “Prope” Dietter, the unofficial “mayor of Ancramdale,” died on Aug. 17 at his home in Ancramdale. He was 95.
He was born in 1927, the 10th of 16 children, in what was then called Ancram Lead Mines. Dietter told people that he was older than Ancramdale because the hamlet’s name didn’t change until the early 1930s. Dietter lived his entire life in Ancramdale, along a half mile stretch of Columbia County Route 8.
Drafted by the Army in 1950, Dietter was sent to Pusan, South Korea, in 1951, and saw combat as part of a mortar team. He was wounded in June 1951, earning a Purple Heart. He also earned the Combat Infantry Badge, the Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation badge. He returned to Ancramdale in June 1952, and continued to serve in the Army Reserves until 1956.
Following his military service, Dietter had a 31-year career with the U.S. Postal Service. After retirement he could be could be found chatting with friends at the Farmer’s Wife in Ancramdale and the Moose on the Loose in Pine Plains. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Irene, two daughters and their families, and his brother Ellwood of Millerton. He was predeceased by seven sisters and seven brothers as well as his son, Avery Jr.
He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Pine Plains on August 23.