Gansevoort - Eli Lee Dietsch 89 passed away peacefully at Saratoga Hospital on July 17, 2017 with his wife of 32 years, June (Fortino)  Dietsch, at his side.

Eli grew up in Detroit, Michigan and is the son to the late Eli and Lydia Cole Dietsch.  He received a BS in Zoology and an MS in Biology from the University of California.  After college, he served in the Army from 1953 to 1956.  Following his honorable discharge from the armed forces he began his career as a marine biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service at the Woods Hole.  He worked for the NYSDEC for over 25 years and lived in the Saratoga area since 1969.  During retirement, he was a substitute teacher at several local schools and a security guard at the Saratoga Race Course.

In addition to his parents, Eli is predeceased by his first wife Patricia Nickerson Dietsch.

Survivors include their two sons, Robert (Kathleen) and Michael Dietsch, 6 granddaughters and 3 great grandchildren.  Eli is also survived by June's children, James, Diane and Joseph Fortino, and her 3 grandchildren and his first cousin Lee Friday, 90, and wife Nancy, 91 of California also survive him.

Burial with military honors will take place on Friday, July 21, 2017 at 3pm at the Gerald BH Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, 200 Duell Rd., Schuylerville.

Online remembrances may be made at burkefuneralhom.com.