Obituary for Rotraut Diefenthal | SUMMIT Funeral & Cremation
- Date Of Death: September 23, 2020
- State: Minnesota
Rotraut Diefenthal was born in 1926 in Ortelsburg, formerly East Prussia, and passed away on September 23, 2020, at the age of 93, in Minneapolis, MN.
In between she packed a very full life, living in Malaysia and Tanzania as a missionary, learning English, Chinese, and Swahili, raising four children, and establishing a career as a radiographer.
Rotraut was the oldest of six children, and at the age of nine, her father moved the family to Berlin. There were several more moves in store during World War II due to safety concerns, and the family returned to Berlin after the war where she finished high school. Rotraut started college studying German Literature until she met Helmut Diefenthal, a medical student at the time, and changed her focus to medicine. They married in 1952 and became Lutheran Missionaries, and she and Helmut moved their family of four children around the globe. Two daughters (born in Berlin) traveled with them to their first medical missionary tour in Malaysia in 1956, where they would have two sons. The next assignment was to a remote village hospital in the Paré mountains in northeastern Tanzania, East Africa. The family was then moved to Minneapolis MN for five years, where Helmut obtained a specialty degree in Radiology, Rotraut became a Radiographer (X-Ray technician). With these specialties in hand, they returned to Moshi, Tanzania where Helmut and Rotraut set up the radiology department for a brand new hospital, the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC). After two years the family returned to Minneapolis where Rotraut continued working as a Radiographer until she retired. Her professionalism and hard work were recognized when she was honored as Minnesota’s radiographer of the year in 1987). In retirement, Helmut and Rotraut then chose to return to KCMC to develop a Radiology training program for Tanzanian physicians. Rotraut assisted Helmut with his work as a full time Radiologist for 25 years. When the time came to retire, they returned to Minneapolis to spend time with family and friends.
Rotraut was greatly admired for her dedication to her family and helping Helmut with his work. She was the person who helped behind the scenes and made sure everything was ready and functioned properly.
Rotraut is survived by her four children, Marianne, Manuela, George and John; along with a brother Georg, sister-in-laws Friedgard, Renate, and several nieces and nephews who all live in Germany.