ST. CLAIR — She has led the St. Mary’s blood drive since 1990. She has been a part of the Rosary Altar Society, 4-H Clubs, Daughters of Isabella, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, helped her husband and a group of people establish the St. Vincent de Paul Society Conference and raised nine children who were educated at St. Mary’s Catholic School.
“It has been our parish and we’ve always sent our children to the Catholic school, all nine of them,” Dietlin said. “It’s the Catholic religion which is our forte, not to diminish St. Mary’s, but St. Mary’s is a big part of our life too.”
Dietlin and her husband, Marvin, who passed in 2008, became members of St. Mary’s in 1952 and have always been involved since the start.
“She’s very caring, compassionate; she’s a leader,” said Mary Paquette, Christian service coordinator at St. Mary’s. “She had stepped forward to serving 4-H, she leads the blood drive, she tends church, she supports her grandchildren. She does it all.”
Paquette said Sylvia Dietlin is always a presence around St. Mary’s community.
“She comes to church constantly and she’s just been a great presence in the community,” Paquette said. “She’s always been a presence whether it’s been through church, with her children, volunteering — her presence always has been there.”
Dietlin’s daughter-in-law, Diana Dietlin, agreed.
“Good Lord, she’s a force of nature, never quits, always smiling, always willing to do whatever,” she said. “From a grandchild calling her to a complete stranger calling her, she’s always willing to do whatever it takes to help them out. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her say no to anybody.”
Though Sylvia Dietlin is involved with so much around the St. Mary’s community, she says it’s a complete effort from everyone.
“They have allowed me to participate in different organizations like Red Cross with the blood drive and they cooperate with me,” she said. “It’s really a give-and-take thing and we’re all in it together. You can’t do it by yourself.”
Sylvia Dietlin is most known for her work with the St. Mary’s blood drive, which is held twice a year, unless she wants to add a third or fourth, Diana said.
“That’s everything from getting volunteers, to setting up the posters, to being there from first thing in the morning and cleaning up after the last Red Cross person leaves,” Diana said.
Sylvia said it’s very close to her because she can help so many people.
“The blood drive is very important to me because it involves so many lives, not only those who are volunteering and giving their blood, but also the people that receive the blood,” she said. “There is a big demand for the blood in our area and Detroit.”
Not only does Dietlin volunteer her own time, she has always tried to get others involved as well.
“She pulls other people in,” Diana said. “She’s the kind of person that if she’s doing something, even if it isn’t a group you belong to, she’ll say come down, come on and help and see what we’re doing.”
Whether it’s taking someone to the doctor or moving out an 80-year-old friend, her most recent volunteer work, she never stops.
“It’s not my nature to sit and do nothing. I’ve always been really ambitious with doing things. I love to stay busy,” she said.
At age 82, Sylvia Dietlin has no plans of stopping her volunteer work and has a message for those who are sitting at home bored.
“I think that anybody that sits around and says they’re bored, forget it. Go find yourself something to do,” she said. “There’s no reason to be bored, there are so many people who can benefit from your abilities, whether it be driving somebody to the doctor or getting groceries or whatever. There’s a lot of things people can do and I think that God gives us every moment and we ought to share it with other people.”
