It is with great sadness we announce that Dietrich Wing Lei passed away on October 7th, 2020. He was born on May 15, 1973 in Portland Oregon to Benjamin and Barbara Lei. He was the youngest of three children. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in English; he was an avid reader and wrote his own travelogues. His German mother and Chinese father instilled a love of travel in him from an early age. He chose his profession accordingly and became a teacher. This gave him the opportunity to travel every summer. It was on one of these adventures in Bali, he met his wife Nadezhda. Together with their daughter Claudia they traveled far and wide and created memories of a lifetime me. Later, Aunt Margie and Claudia were his steadfast travel companions, making countless cross country road trips, exploring National Parks and Brigantine beach. But after summer ended, he would return to the classroom where he thoroughly enjoyed being a teacher. His students thought he was old school, and often told them to read the book before they saw the movie. His dry sense of humor was usually accompanied by a low chuckle that made everyone laugh. The students, faculty, and staff at Branham High School lost a giant — he will never be forgotten. (I hope the English Department will forgive any grammatical errors!)

Dietrich is survived by his father Benjamin, his heartbroken wife, Nadezhda, and his daughter, Claudia. The whole family from Nadezhda's side (Elena, Valeriy, Ivan, Nikita, and Ilya Moiseev) also express their condolences. They grieve along with everyone, despite the distance. Dietrich will always be in their hearts, loving and beloved! He will be greatly missed by his sisters (no words can express the depth of our sorrow) Leslie Goldstein and Johanna (and Dan) Robison, his niece and nephews (Lucy, Carsten, and Kyle). He will be missed dearly by his Aunts - Margie, Mimi, and Tante Ute; his vast network cousins, brother-in-laws, dear friends, Carlos Matos, and all of his poker buddies that he played with for the past 25 years. Shine on, Dietrich, we'll never forget you.