When Imogene Marie Dietrich died March 16, 2017, at age 59, her husband and high school sweetheart, Bill, knew he had to find a way to honor her memory.

As Imogene loved sunflowers, Bill decided to plant a field of the bright yellow flowers next to his Germansville home.

When the flowers were ready for harvesting, Bill took the sunflower seeds and bagged them to sell as wild bird food.

A 1975 graduate of Northwestern Lehigh High School, Imogene and Bill married in 1973.

The couple had two children, Steven Dietrich and Stacey Scanlon.

“One of the things that made her fall in love with Bill was when she saw him washing his 4-H animals at the Allentown Fair and decided she really wanted to make the animals feel loved and wash them, too,” Scanlon said during a previous interview.

In 1999, when Bill’s father Russell K. Dietrich died in a farming accident, Imogene suggested they set up a scholarship in his name.

“We have given out a lot of scholarships in his name in the past,” Dietrich said, during an earlier interview.

“Imogene knew it was important knowing how modern farming is very high tech to have students educated on making sound business decisions in farming.”

The family created the Imogene M. Dietrich Memorial Scholarship in her memory.

“The scholarship is given to a graduating senior at Northwestern Lehigh High School who is furthering his or her education in agriculture or its related fields,” Bill said.

“Having been married to a farmer for more than 43 years, Imogene knew the importance of agriculture in feeding the world’s population.”

A portion of the sale of the sunflower seeds will go toward the scholarship.

In addition, donations may be made at the New Tripoli Bank to the Imogene M. Dietrich Memorial Scholarship Fund account.

“Imogene was truly an angel here on earth and her legacy of caring for people will continue in her memory for years to come,” Bill said.