DIETZ, CLAYTON TOWNSEND

Mr. Dietz, 85, passed away on March 26, 2009 surrounded by his family. A resident of Severna Park, Maryland since 1978. Mr. Dietz was the son of the late Harold Arthur Dietz, the late Ruth Estelle (Copeland) Dietz and the husband of the late Annette E. (Dietsch) Dietz, RN (1931-2005) to whom he was married for 51 years. Born October 14, 1923, he was raised in North Attleborough, Massachusetts and graduated from the local High School in 1941. Later that year, when World War II was declared he became a welder at Rheem Shipyard, Providence, R.I. which was engaged in the construction of Liberty Ships In 1942 he joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Construction Battalions (Seabees) in North Africa and the European theatre as well as Okinawa and the Pacific theatre for a total of three years. Following military service he entered BROWN UNIVERSITY from which he graduated with a degree in Experimental Psychology in 1951. His later education included studies at the UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, Storrs Campus (where he met his future wife, Annette Dietsch) and the UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, Boulder, from which he received a Diploma at the Graduate School of International Banking. In Brazil, he studied languages at the UNIVERSIDADE DE SAO PAULO. He was a member of SIGMA NU Fraternity.

From 1951 until 1965 Dietz participated in the management of the New York based CITIBANK's branch network in Brazil. In 1954, while stationed in Porto Alegre in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, he returned briefly to New York where he married his late wife. He and his family resided in Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, Salvador da Bahia, Campinas and Brasilia. In 1965 he was transferred to the New York headquarters of CITIBANK and traveled extensively around the world representing the bank. In 1974 he accepted a position with THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF DENVER in Colorado as Vice President & Chief General Manager of the bank's International Division. In 1977 Dietz accepted, on behalf of the bank, the "E" award from the President of the United States for excellence in the promotion of international activities amongst the business and industrial communities of Colorado. He served as a Director of a Denver multi-lingual school for foreign business students and promoted the banks growth through establishment of its first overseas Branch in the Cayman Islands.

Dietz and family moved to Severna Park, Md. in 1978 when he was invited to participate in the formation of COMMERCIAL CREDIT INTERNATIONAL BANKING CORPORATION in Baltimore. He served as Senior Vice President in charge of Credit Administration and as Senior Loan Officer. Three years later he accepted a position as Senior Loan Officer of the International Division of AMERICAN SECURITY BANK in Washington, D.C. ( that later merged with Maryland National Bank which merged with Nations Bank of N.C. which merged with Bank of America). Dietz was retired from both CITIBANK and BANK OF AMERICA.

Following retirement from commercial banking in 1989, Dietz became a consultant to an arm of the UNITED NATIONS, The Bank for International Reconstruction and Development (THE WORLD BANK) in Washington, D.C. for whom he traveled around the world assessing the credit worthiness of individual financial institutions and the design of banking systems. In addition, he co-authored a text for Central Bank administrators and examiners that was translated into various languages. Fluent in several languages, he acted as a lecturer at World Bank seminars for foreign bankers.

Dietz was no stranger to Washington since he served from 1974 until 1989 as a member of the Colorado and then the Baltimore/Washington District Export Councils of the U.S. Department of Commerce and
participated in Senior Executive / Diplomat Seminars at the U. S. Department of State.

Closer to home, in their retirement, Dietz participated as a Volunteer Park Ranger at Sandy Point State Park and assisted his wife, Annette, a retired Registered Nurse, in her activities as a wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator licensed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service. She was known as " The Duck Lady of Severna Park". Together, in their later years, they enjoyed hiking about various sectors of the world and revisiting their memberships in many Country & Golf, Sailing and Equestrian clubs. In Maryland, the Dietz's were members of the Severn River Swim Club and he was active at the West Severna Park Community Marina from which he sailed and cruised on the Chesapeake Bay and it's tributaries.

Mr. Dietz is survived by his son Clayton T. Dietz, Jr., his wife Patricia, and grandsons Curtis and Connor, and his daughter Michelle D. Procaccini, her husband Louis, and granddaughter Erika and grandson Louis. At Mr. Dietz's request there will be no public viewing. Following a brief memorial service at Christ Episcopal Church, Greenwich, Connecticut on April 25, 2009 at 11:00am, burial will be in the Memorial Garden alongside his late wife, Annette Dietz.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Hospice of the Chesapeake, 445 Defense Highway, Annapolis, MD 21401.