Jack Dieringer Papers

Andrew "Jack" Dieringer was born in Reno, Nevada on November 24, 1925, the only child of Harriet and Andrew Jacob “Pat” Dieringer. He attended Southside (elementary) School, Billinghurst Junior High School, and Reno High School, graduating in 1943. Throughout middle and high school, he worked at his father’s bakery, the Johnson Dandee Bakery, as a shipping clerk and delivered bread after school.

In 1943, Dieringer enrolled at the University of Nevada, where he was Sigma Nu president and played football in 1944 and 1945. In 1946, he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley with the goal of attending medical school. However, as a non-California resident and the high demands to enroll at UC Berkeley by residents, he was not accepted. He returned to the University of Nevada in 1947 and finished his last credits, graduating in 1948 with a degree in biology. As part of his studies, he took a course in hatchery management and went to the hatchery in Verdi, run by the Nevada Fish and Game Commission, to learn hatchery fish culture.

At the end of his 1948 school year, a Verdi hatchery staff member left and he was offered and accepted the full-time position. The job was welcomed as Jack had married Marie Aldrich in 1947. Marie, born in Fernley, also graduated from UNR in 1945 with a degree in business, and taught for two years in Lyon County. During their marriage, she and Jack had two children. She later taught in Washoe County School District, retiring after 32 years.

Dieringer worked for the Nevada Department of Fish and Game as a Fish Culturist at the Verdi hatchery from 1948 until February 1951, then became a Fisheries Technician for a year, moving to the Reno office. In 1952, he became the Assistant Chief of the Fisheries Division, mainly working on fish culture, and held that position until 1976 when Tom Trealese retired as Division Chief. Dieringer then held the position of Division Chief until his retirement in 1983.

During his time as Assistant Chief of Fisheries, Dieringer was in charge of the distribution of reared fish to each Nevada county for planting in their streams. He also oversaw the reconstruction of the Verdi hatchery and the construction of the new Ruby Valley facility, both for trout. He coordinated the work of the federal, state, and local entities for the construction of the Lake Mead Hatchery in the Lake Mead Recreation Area. Finally, he coordinated the transfer of fish from the Hagerman National Fish Hatchery to Nevada.

During these years, Dieringer also became an adjunct professor at UNR, working with Bob Taylor on fish diseases for nearly nine years. As Division Chief, he was in charge of all aspects of the division, such as the work on any federal projects, testifying before the Nevada Legislature, coordinating work with the U.S. Forest Service, and other administrative duties. Upon his retirement as Division Chief in 1983, Governor Richard Bryan declared it “Jack Dieringer Day” through a proclamation.

Dieringer died on January 16, 2020.