Former Sun columnist, horse fancier Diederich dies

Tuesday, July 1, 2003 | 8:59 a.m.

There were two things of which Joan Diederich could not get enough -- news and horses.

A former Sun columnist, Diederich regularly called the paper's editorial board with story ideas. She was as dedicated to her ponies, gaining recognition as one of Southern Nevada's top breeders of champion Arabian horses.

Joan Mary Diederich, a marketing consultant and wife of longtime Las Vegas hotel public relations executive Harvey Diederich, died Friday at Sunrise Hospital of complications from a recent stroke. She was 75.

A memorial service for the Las Vegas resident of 50 years will be 1 p.m. Sunday at Palm Mortuary-Eastern.

"She had a brilliant mind and always knew what was important news," said Sun Chairman Mike O'Callaghan, former two-term governor of Nevada. "Our editorial people valued her opinion and enjoyed her phone calls. Her advice will be missed."

Sun editorial cartoonist Mike Smith, who recently drew a get well card for the ailing Diederich, called her "a dedicated news junkie."

"Joan had opinions on just about everything in the news -- her passions were news and politics," Smith said. "There were weeks she would call me every day with ideas for cartoon subjects."

Combining her love for news and horses, Diederich penned the "Hoof Beats" column in the Sun in the early 1960s. She wrote about all of the goings on in the local equestrian world.

In 1972, at a show at the old Equestrian Estates park in Las Vegas, Diederich decided to show her 6-month-old Arabian colt MGM Grand in the halter class -- a division in which the horse is walked instead of ridden.

"It was definitely a high point in my mother's career as a breeder because MGM Grand that day beat a 2-year-old horse owned by (entertainer) Wayne Newton," said Diederich's daughter Darrilyn Cry of Las Vegas, who for many years showed her mother's horses at equine competitions, including that show.

"My mother always had a love for horses, growing up in Nebraska, and later in Sun Valley (Idaho) and in Las Vegas, where she owned 10 Arabians. She loved that breed because of its great intelligence."

Diederich's first horse was Holly, a Tennessee Saddle Bred mix. But she soon acquired her first Arabian, Dilaram. All of her other horses were of his lineage.

Born Joan Mary Kimble on April 26, 1928, in Omaha, Neb., Diederich was the eldest of three daughters of Robert Kimble, a career Army officer, and the former Madeline Murphy.

She graduated from high school in Omaha and later moved to Sun Valley, where she met Harvey Diederich, a journalist who would go on to work in public relations for the Last Frontier, Hacienda, Tropicana, Sahara, MGM Grand and Union Plaza hotels.

The Diederichs moved to Las Vegas in 1952 and left in 1954 for a one-year stint in the Bahamas, where he was chief of the Bahamas News Bureau. They returned to Las Vegas for good in 1955.

The couple has long been separated, but they remained married and remained friends, their family said. He survives her and today lives in Henderson.

Joan Diederich was the owner of Imaginations Unlimited, where she consulted business operators on marketing methods.

In addition to her husband and daughter, Diederich is survived by two other daughters, Terre Neumeyer of Las Vegas and Gaye Diederich of Tucson, Ariz.; two sons, Mick Diederich and Guy Diederich, both of Las Vegas; a sister, Nina Kimble of Omaha; six grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.