With heavy but proud hearts, the brother and sister of Muriel Bess Dietrich announce her passing at 1:15 p.m. Sunday in Beaver Township. She was 71 years old.

“Bess” entered the world on Dec. 20, 1947, the middle child of Cyril W. and Muriel Wicks Dietrich.

Raised in historic Troy Hill overlooking downtown Pittsburgh, Bess reveled in the close-knit, urban community until her family relocated to the more arcadian outlier of Prospect, where her father fulfilled an August dream of owning a farm.

With meadows to roam, trails to hike and wild animals to domesticate, Bess flourished in her country life, replete with a mile-long walk each way to the idyllic one-room Bunker Hill schoolhouse, where she received her education until junior high school, subsequently transferring to the nearby Slippery Rock school system.

The daughter of artists, Bess nurtured her creativity through oil and acrylic painting with an emphasis in land and seascapes. Her dreams of expanding her artistry were cast adrift when she began developing symptoms of mental illness serious enough to require institutionalization throughout most of her adult life.

Bess's life serves as a testament to human endurance. She set an indelible standard for one's ability to suffer, cope, thrive and transcend the cascading losses of good health, freedom and dignity. Bess eclipsed these crushing challenges with the heart and strength of a truly noble woman. She was defined by her loving nature, generous heart, incomparable wit, creative eyes, and a fierce countenance to hold onto herself through life's cruelest, unmerciful tests.

Left to uphold the memory of her courageous and remarkable life are her siblings, Bill Dietrich and his wife, Lynne, Dorothy and her husband, Joe Lanzalotto; her nephews, Gregory Fultz and Grant Lanzalotto; and her niece, Leslie Schorno and her husband, Kevin.

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

— Proverbs 31:10

DIETRICH — Final arrangements for Muriel Bess Dietrich, who died Sunday, March 10, 2019, are being facilitated by Jay Bryan Funeral Home in Prospect.