Natalie Dietrich, 20

Our beloved Natalie accidentally let slip the reins of life on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016. Cause of death was an accidental drug interaction. Her short 20 years were filled with passion, intelligence and an infectious respect for people and animals of all kinds.

Natalie was born April 21, 1995, in Billings. She attended Rimrock, Rose Park and Poly Drive elementary schools, Lewis and Clark Middle School, and graduated from Billings Senior High School in 2013 as a member of the National Honor Society. She was a junior in economics at Montana State University, was consistently on the Dean’s List, and was a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success at the time of her death.

Natalie had an adventurous soul and loved the outdoors. She packed a lot of living into her 20 short years. Treasured time was spent with family skiing, hiking and boating at cabins in Red Lodge and at Echo Lake in the Flathead Valley. During the summer of 2015 she arranged for a trip to Australia with International Student Volunteers and spent four weeks on that continent and one week on the island of Fiji. She left not knowing anyone on her trip and returned with many close new friends. Natalie’s particular passion was horses and riding. At age 10 or so, she wrote the following poem:

“I AM” by Natalie Dietrich

I AM horse crazy and curious

I WONDER why people are racist

I HEAR the ocean waves hitting the soft sand

I SEE the world fighting everyday

I WANT peace on earth

I AM horse crazy and curious

I PRETEND I can fly over the mountains with my horse

I FEEL faint when I see blood

I TOUCH my parents with my flute

I WORRY about my family dying

I CRY when someone special to me leaves

I AM horse crazy and curious

I UNDER-STAND why people get hurt

I SAY random stuff

I DREAM of living until I’m 100

I TRY not to hurt people’s feelings

I HOPE to be a famous horse rider

I AM horse crazy and curious

 From this time until college, she competed on various horses, including Andalusians, quarter horses and thoroughbreds. Natalie started with Western Pleasure and graduated to eventing, including cross country, dressage and show jumping. Natalie grew up and grew skilled along with her mounts, showing great promise and garnering many awards along the way. In the aftermath of a tragic barn fire that killed two of her horses along with many others, Natalie was forced to grow even more as she helped heal and was healed with the love and support of her “barn family.”

Natalie is survived by her sister Rachel (fiancé Andrew Flack) and her parents, David and Janis Dietrich of Billings; her grandmothers Anne Dietrich of Billings and Joyce Corbett of Kalispell; many aunts and uncles who all loved her dearly; numerous cousins with whom she shared special bonds and close ties; and innumerable friends. No one who knew Natalie will ever forget her clear-eyed and level-headed intelligence, compassion, humor, spirit and smile that would light up a room.

Services will be held Saturday, Feb. 6, at noon at American Lutheran Church, 5 Lewis Avenue, Billings. Memorials for Natalie may be made to the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter, 1735 Monad Road, Billings MT 59101, (yvas.org); the Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter, 1549 E. Cameron Bridge Road, Belgrade, MT 59714, (heartofthevalleyshelter.org) or the Natalie A. Dietrich Scholarship Fund administered by the Billings Community Foundation, P.O. Box 1255, Billings, MT 59103, (billingscommunityfoundation.org).