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Walter I. (“Mike”)
Thieme
Walter Irving (“Mike”) Thieme passed away Sunday, September 9, 2018, in
Greenville, Ohio. He was two days from his 98th birthday.
Mike was born September 11, 1920 in Missoula, Montana the only child of
Fred Earnest Thieme, Jr. and Ella Claire (Hopkins) Thieme. Christened
“Walter Irving” for Ella’s two brothers, his father called him “his
little Irish Mick” because of his red hair. The name “Mickey” followed
him through college, but later he went by “Mike.” He attended schools
in Missoula and was graduated from high school at age 16.
Mike received a mechanical engineering degree from Montana State
University in 1942, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity
and the Rau Beta Pi engineering honorary. Due to his college
participation in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, he entered into
military service in the Army Air Corps immediately after graduation. At
Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, he was assigned to engineering duties but
later was accepted into pilot training and supported the World War II
effort by testing the latest military aircraft in Alaska.
After 4-1/2 years of service, he was released and worked for two years
as an engineering test pilot for Fairchild Aircraft in Hagerstown,
Maryland. He then returned to school at Harvard University and received
a Masters Degree in Business in 1949. It was in Cambridge that Mike
would meet the love of his life, Jean Louise Hole, of Greenville, Ohio,
who was studying in the Management Training Program at Radcliffe
College. They were married June 18, 1948 in Greenville. Mike’s first
post-graduate job was as an industrial engineer with Crown Zellerbach
in Oregon and Washington. The Air Force called him into
non-flying service during the Korean War, with engineering duties in
Baltimore and Cape Canaveral, Florida.
His military tour of duty over, Mike took a management position with
Greenville-based American Aggregates Corporation, a business founded by
Jean Louise’s grandfather, Fred Coppock, among others. Mike had a
nearly 40-year career with AAC, growing the tri-state business into one
of the largest suppliers of sand, gravel, and limestone products in the
United States. In 1961, Jean Louise and Mike, then President of AAC,
built a home south of Greenville at the “Hills of Judea,” which, along
with nearby Wayne Lakes, became a model for restoration and reclamation
of gravel lands as valuable home sites. Mike assumed the role of Chief
Executive Officer of AAC in 1969 and retired from the position of
Chairman of the Board in 1987 when the firm was acquired by a
subsidiary of Consolidated Gold Fields.
The Thiemes raised their family in Darke County, Ohio. They were
members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where Mike served as Treasurer,
Vestryperson, and Senior Warden. They both supported many community
causes. In particular, Mike served on the hospital boards of Wayne
Hospital (Greenville), Children’s Hospital (Dayton), and 12 years on
the Regional Health Planning Council. Recently, he contributed to a new
girls’ softball field and expansion of the Brethren Home. In his free
time, Mike could often be found cutting and stacking wood, his favorite
form of exercise and therapy. He also enjoyed riding horses, swimming,
and maintaining a garden and fruit trees, with the added benefit of
homemade wine. He and Jean Louise were generous hosts to many
gatherings including outdoor church services, New Year’s Eve fireworks,
and a Memorial Day fish fry tradition that continues to this day.
In retirement, Mike and Jean Louise enjoyed travelling the world. They
built a home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 1990, which became their
primary residence, and allowed Mike to return to favorite activities of
his Montana youth, such as skiing, hiking the mountains, and big game
hunting. He started hiking local peaks in the Tetons and Idaho
(including Mt. Borah), but also set his sights further afield. He
tackled Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, four times
between the ages of 71 and 80; reaching the crater rim (18,638’) three
times, the last time at age 80. He went around the rim to the highest
point (19,341’) in 1995 at age 74, making the Guinness Book of Records
as the oldest climber to achieve that feat. Although not always
successful, he loved scouting for and hunting game, resulting in his
last elk in Wyoming in the fall of 2008, at age 88.
In Jackson Hole, he and Jean Louise were active members of St. John’s
Episcopal Church, where they were instrumental in selecting and
acquiring a pipe organ that was installed in 2002. Both served
enthusiastically on the board and committees of the Off Square Theatre
Company. They threw heart and soul into the vision, planning,
fundraising, and executive functions for the Jackson Hole Center for
the Arts, ultimately resulting in their names appearing on the
performing arts pavilion when it opened in 2007.
Jean Louise passed away following a short illness on September 7, 2009.
Mike continued to live mainly in Wyoming until late 2016, when health
reasons brought a return to Darke County, Ohio, where he took a
residence at the Brethren Home Retirement Community. His intelligence
and keen sense of humor remained strong, as did his interest in current
affairs and people from all walks of life and cultures. He has been
loved and admired by many and will be greatly missed.
Mike is survived by three children, Michael Thieme, of Northridge,
California, Rebecca Hartnagle of Greenville, Ohio, and Susan Rope of
Idaho Falls, Idaho. He also has two foster daughters, Ilona (Jakabsons)
Reif, of Laramie, Wyoming, and Gracie (Hill, Ratliff) Overholser of
Greenville; 10 grandchildren; and twelve great-grandchildren. All
affectionately call him “Duggle-Duggle,” a phrase he cooed to babies. A
veteran storyteller, he has surprised folks even in recent years with
ones never heard before. His adventures as a test pilot in Alaska have
been documented in a book titled The Rogue Colonel, published in 2016
with his daughter Susan.
In lieu of flowers, donations will be gratefully accepted in his memory
to the Music Fund for St. John’s Episcopal Church (Jackson, Wyoming),
or the Darke County Foundation (Greenville, Ohio.) A memorial
service will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 2:00 on Sunday,
September 16, with a reception following
Funeral arrangements by Zechar Bailey Funeral Home Greenville, Ohio.
Condolences for the family may be expressed through www.zecharbailey.com
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