Kim Saltmarsh Dietz: A Tribute to Oregon Shooting Victim

The Pyrenees Vineyard in the rolling hills of Myrtle Creek closed its doors to mourn the death of their beloved coworker and friend, Kim Dietz.

She attended Umpqua Community College along with her daughter, who was uninjured.

Dietz, then known as Saltmarsh, graduated from Mission Viejo High in 1974 and moved from south Orange County to Oregon in 2008 with her husband. Shannon Dietz was at a different part of the campus when the shooting occurred. Kim Dietz tended to the landscaping on the property. “A really, really good person all these years later”, said Amendola. “She was a very energetic, very kind, kind soul”.

Former classmates said they are numb after learning that their friend was killed in the mass shooting at an Oregon community college. Kirkham described the shooting to ABC News, saying there was rapid fire.

“Kim wasn’t responding to her parents telephone calls or emails or Facebook messages, and she was a student at the college, but you figure so many students there, maybe it was just a coincidence that she wasn’t answering”, said Amendola.

“I would like to believe her personally the person her parents raised her to be, made her strong for everyone else around her”, said Amendola. Then, the gunman entered the room and shot Mintz several times.

Kreger remembers a woman who was both athletic and into agriculture.

She talked about the vineyard, how much she loved it and about her dogs. They have set up a gofundme site to help with a memorial for her family.