Dale Fietz

Dale Howard Fietz set an example on how to live a life. At the age of 91, he lost his courageous battle with cancer on March 14, 2021. Born in Akron, Ohio September 26, 1929, Dale left his family farm to join the U.S. Air Force and pursue his interest in aviation. He went on to graduate with a degree in Engineering from the University of Texas, where he also played as quarterback for the Longhorns. It is there he met a Southern belle, Gloria, who he married and settled down with in Ft. Worth. They moved to Colorado to begin their family and a new career working for a testing lab. It wasn’t long before Dale fell in love with the Rocky Mountains and the downhill skiing, hunting and fishing for several years before they moved to Marin, California where he started his own business, Technical Consultants, Inc. For 48 years he was an expert witness in countless accident investigations leading him to begin safety seminars to prevent the tragedies he had to witness. His lifelong fascination on how things worked led to numerous inventions and patents, including an award-winning invention, the Fietz Concrete Tester, and two others that went with NASA to the moon to test its surface hardness. Dale loved the new slopes in the Sierras and went on to become the oldest downhill racer in California. But now he had discovered sailing, scuba diving, hot air ballooning, water-skiing and fishing the Pacific Ocean in his motorboat. This was all done only when it didn’t interfere with the many associations, nonprofits and services he was committed to, including Rotary International. Finally settling down in Petaluma, Dale went on to get a Master’s Degree from USC, and at the age of 70, took his first art class from his late son in law, artist John P. O’Brien. He was a natural and won awards in every art show he entered along with photographs he had taken during his travels abroad. At 80, he began his stage career, performing in many ballets with the school he helped begin and support, O’Brien Center of the Arts. His favorite role was the Cobbler where he handed out pointe shoes to 12 Dancing Princesses. One of his favorite past-times was driving his John Deere on the “funny farm”, hanging out with the animals and cooking BBQ for his girls. He was a hero. He is survived by his loving daughters, Martha O’Brien of Petaluma, Diane Fietz of Santa Rosa and Kathleen LaBranche of Orange, CA, and adoring granddaughters, Michelle O’Brien, Claire O’Brien and Crystal Adams. His brothers Robert and Bruce Fietz and ex-wife, Gloria Norton preceded him in death. A Celebration of Life Memorial and exhibit of his art and photography will be held on Saturday, April 24 at 3 PM at O’Brien Center of the Arts, 326 Petaluma Blvd. N. Petaluma. The Fietz Foundation is being established in his honor to provide scholarships to aspiring engineers and inventors.

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