John Lowell “Pete” Dimond passed peacefully on September 16, 2020 after a life truly lived. A rosary service will be held on Sunday September 20th at Trout Funeral Home Chapel at 6 p.m. followed by a funeral service at 10 a.m. on Monday, September 21st, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. His burial will follow at Resthaven Memorial park.
Pete was born in Great Bend, KS in 1936 to Aloysius Peter and Ruth May Dimond. He was raised in Seward, KS, graduating from Great Bend High School, leaving behind the title of “greatest baseball captain Great Bend has ever had!”, and going on to attend Hutchinson Junior College where he dominated on the football field. He graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering where he was a member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. Here is where he found his two great loves; the Wildcats and Marcy Gronis. Pete and Marcy were married in Manhattan, KS in 1958 and had three amazing children, Ann Michelle, Michael Patrick, and Kathleen Rae.
Pete had a long and illustrious career with Conoco (later to become ConocoPhillips). His career began in Ponca City and soon flourished taking him and Marcy to Billings, MT, Artesia NM, back to Billings MT and on to Lake Charles, LA. The Dimonds returned to Ponca City, OK before transferring to Denver, CO and finally overseas to England where Pete was the plant manager for the Humber Refinery. Pete and Marcy finally had an empty nest, but unfortunately discovered the UK was not for them. They returned to Ponca City in 1985 where Pete served as the Refinery Manager and then became Manager of Project Implementation for Worldwide Downstream Conoco. Pete retired in 1994 after 36 years with Conoco and then spent the next 26 years perfecting his skills on the links.
Pete and Marcy spent their retirement years in Ponca City spoiling their dogs and traveling frequently to see their children and grandchildren until Marcy passed away in 2013.
Pete and Betty Janssen were married in 2014 and lived happily in Ponca City until Betty’s passing in 2019.
Pete was a loving, generous, and supportive father, grandfather, and great grandfather. He was truly a beloved person and all in all a “swell guy” according to countless friends. He was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and served on numerous committees. Pete took his duty of caring for the azalea bushes north of the school very seriously. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Catholic Foundation of Oklahoma. Pete was involved in many civic organizations and charities.
Pete is survived by his children Michelle Ellingson and husband Wayne of Melissa, TX, Mike Dimond and wife Sue of Edmond, OK, and Kathy Kersgieter and husband Greg also of Edmond, OK, grandchildren Bryan Ellingson, Kevin Ellingson, Sarah Dimond, Nicholas Ellingson, John Dimond, Katelyn Kersgieter, Kelsey Kersgieter, and Kiley Kersgieter as well as 2 great grandchildren, Gabriel Ellingson and Easton Ellingson.
Pete’s family wishes that people make donations to the Ponca City Humane Society in lieu of sending flowers.
Funeral arrangements provided by
Trout Funeral Home & Crematory
505 W. Grand Ave.
Ponca City, Okla. 74601
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Sept. 20, 2020
