Dieter Werner Muth

In liebevoller Erinnerung an „Opa“

Auch wenn er nicht mein leiblicher Opa war, war er für mich das Nächste an einer Vater- und Großvaterfigur. Ich habe seine Enkelkinder, Jessy und Anthony, als Au-pair betreut – und so durfte auch ich Teil seiner Familie werden.
Er war ein Sonnenschein, voller Wärme, Humor und Liebe. Für meine eigenen Kinder war er wie ein Urgroßvater – er nannte sie liebevoll seine Urenkel.
Er hatte immer ein Lächeln im Gesicht. Selbst wenn ich einmal nicht nach seinen Vorstellungen gehandelt habe, erklärte er mir alles liebevoll und wertschätzend. Auch mein Deutsch verbesserte er – nie auf eine besserwisserische Weise, sondern mit Hingabe, Geduld und echter Wertschätzung.
Ein besonderer Schatz in unseren Erinnerungen sind die Weihnachtsvideos, die er uns Jahr für Jahr schickte. Darin spielte er voller Hingabe auf seiner Mundharmonika – kleine Botschaften voller Wärme, die uns auch über die Entfernung spüren ließen, wie sehr er uns verbunden war.
„Opa“, du hast Spuren in unserem Leben hinterlassen, die wir nie vergessen werden. Danke für deine Herzlichkeit, deine Musik und dafür, dass du uns wie Familie behandelt hast.
Du wirst uns fehlen.

Full of Life is the only way I have to describe the Dieter I knew. He was always willing to go anywhere and try anything new. Some of us were fortunate enough to share some of those travels and adventures. The trip to Jordan will always stand out for me. It cannot be stated too many times how much he loved new places and new people. And people loved him. Soldier, teacher, athlete, mentor, father and grandfather. He had what all of us want in the end, a life well lived. Who could ask for more?

When his only granddaughter Jessica was born with autism he was of course concerned. But it did not change his love for her and her life was enriched to the fullest by him. Jessica would light up at the sight of Dieter without fail and he would light up in her presence. Jessie has no concept of death and so whenever she sees him smiling at her, if only in a photograph or a video, he is and will remain her Opipi, for the rest of her life. I will always be grateful to him for his love of Jessica.

Over the years, I enjoyed many visits with Dieter when he came to visit Ilka and his grandchildren.

He was always a delight. I enjoyed so much watching him do his magic tricks and how he interacted with Anthony. He was always able to keep up with Anthony whether it was in the swimming pool or running around the yard. The years went by quickly and now we are going to be missing him this year. So glad for the opportunity to know him.

Gedanken an Dieter lassen Bilder von Turnfesten, Tanz, Sekt, intensiven Gesprächen und fröhlichem Miteinander wieder lebendig werden. Seine positive Ausstrahlung schien immer automatisch auf seine Umgebung überzutreten, mitzureißen und anzustecken. So wird er in meiner Erinnerung weiter lebendig bleiben.
"Schneewittchen"
(diesen Spitznamen hat er mir verliehen)

Dieter gehörte für mich zu jenen wunderbaren Menschen, denen es kontinuierlich gelang, das Positive vom Leben abzuschöpfen, es für sich in Besitz zu nehmen und es in unnachahmlicher Weise wieder an andere auszustrahlen.
Deshalb war seine Gesellschaft immer Freude, und die Aussicht auf sie Vorfreude. Dankbar, ihn so eindrücklich erlebt zu haben. Traurig, es nie wieder zu können.
In turnbrüderlicher Erinnerung,
Dirk Lorenzen, Turner im TuS Jena von 1994 bis 2010.

I knew Opi as the grandfather to my little brother and sister. He was always very kind to me, as he was to everybody he met. He knew very little English, and I knew only slightly more German, but through genuine effort to connect and the little bit of each other's language that we understood, we were able to have conversations, make jokes, and enjoy ourselves. He was a very funny man and always went out of his way to make others smile.

As for what he meant to my little brother Anthony and my little sister Jessy, there are no words. Jessy may not always be able to vocally communicate how she feels, but her love for her Opi was very clear every time she saw him. The bond between Anthony and his Opi transcended the physical distance between them. Even though they spent most of their time thousands of miles apart, they would joke, talk, and play games together frequently.

It is sad to think that I will never see him again and that we will never laugh at ourselves and each other as we do our best to communicate. Goodbye, Opi.