Willie James Diehl, formerly of Marcelin, passed away peacefully at Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert on Monday, August 4, 2025 at the grand age of 97 years.

Willie was born on June 10, 1928 on the family homestead in the Moon Hills district of Marcelin, Saskatchewan. He attended Paddling Lake school and at the age of 18, Willie married the love of his life, Irene Dagenais, at St. Joseph Parish in Marcelin.  Willie and Irene came from local farming families and worked on farms in their early years. Willie had a number of jobs before becoming a stationary engineer for the City of Saskatoon that took him into retirement.  Regardless of what Willie did for a living, he was above all else, a great outdoorsman.  Few knew the trails and byways as well as he did. Hunting and fishing were in his blood.  He was also an avid card player, playing with four generations in real time and over the internet.  We knew he was near the end of his life when he could no longer play cards for more than 20 minutes.

Willie is survived by five daughters and two sons, 15 grandchildren and 30 great-children:

–Louise Darou and her daughters Tisa (Gary Haesch) and their son Andrew; Glenna (Dan Ference) and sons Noah and Jesse; her son-in-law Lau Nguyen (Tannis Zimmer) and children Quaid, Taelynn, Dezlan, Phoenix, Archer, Ardyst and Cassian;

–Robert (Judy Mansell) and children Lisa (Ira Roness) and their children Ben and Sophie; and Christopher (Tania Kraft) and their children Georgia and Luca;

–Brian (Pat Tucker);

–Phyllis (Jim Fergusson) and sons Scott and Eric (Bethany Geddes) and their son Wolfrum;

–Marlene (Don Park) and children Deena (Daniel Simair) and their children Willis and Lucia; Kyla (Robbie Golightly) and children Kinsey, Adelyn and Jamison; and Robert (Jennifer Wilson);

–Judie Goplen, and children Katie (Matt Kachur) and their sons Connor and Logan; Michael (Monique Raubenheimer); and Laura (Miles Jesperson) and their children Stevie and Sunny;

–Christine (Lionel Donohue) and children Sarah (Andrew Adshade) and their sons Oliver, Henry and Charlie; K.C.; and Devon (Shea Jones) and their children Nola, Jory and Kallie.

Willie is predeceased by his wife Irene in 2012, his sons-in-law, Murray Darou and Craig Goplen, his grandchildren Kelly Diehl, Tracy Nguyen, and Kolan Tucker and his great-children, Adam Haesch, twins Anika and Grace Nguyen and Phynn Nguyen.

His lone surviving Diehl in-law is his sister-in-law Rita Diehl of Carrot River and of his wife’s siblings and in-laws, he is survived by his brother-in-law Maurice Dagenais of Saskatoon. His parents were Jim and Ellen Diehl, his two brothers and six sisters and in-laws were Leo(Lil) Clarence, Myrtle (John) Coroy, Florence Patterson, Ella, Eva (Don)Patterson and Marjory (Bill) Haleschuk.  His wife’s siblings and in-laws were Cecile (Roland) Pelletier, Florence (Philip) Pelletier, Ernest (Ida), Raymond (Irene), Teresa (Edwin Rutten; Ernest Coates), Lucy (Leo Willick) and sister-in-law Angeline Dagenais.

His family and many friends were very dear to him. He was well loved and will be deeply missed by all; he was truly one of the last men standing of his generation.

Funeral mass will be celebrated on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at St. Joseph Parish in Marcelin, Saskatchewan at 2:00 p.m.  Interment of ashes in Marcelin Cemetery followed by lunch and fellowship at the Marcelin Community Hall.

Memorial donations may be made to the Marcelin Cemetery Fund. Donations can be made out and mailed to the Marcelin Cemetery Committee at PO Box 38, Marcelin, Saskatchewan S0J 1R0

• Date : 2025-08-05
• Location : Marcelin, SK