Robert Edwin Dietz, IV

Robert Edwin Dietz, IV, passed away in Albuquerque on Monday, June 15, 2026.

He was preceded in death by his parents Robert E. Dietz III and Ann Espe Dietz, sister Gerry Dietz Saunders, and brother Theodore E. Dietz.

He is survived by his sister Ethelinda Dietz; nieces: Jessica Ann Jamison-Wells, Holly Dietz Algermissen, Maya Anne Dietz; and nephew Zacharia Dietz.

He was born in Albuquerque, and grew up on Nassau Farm, in the North Valley. He was the second of four children born to Ann and Robert Dietz III. He graduated from Hamilton College with a BS in biology. Following college, he did a three‑month stint as a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park. He then went into the Peace Corps. From February 1964 to January 1966 he worked in La Plata, Hala, Colombia as a volunteer in a program of community development.

Upon his return, he began a graduate studies program in entomology at North Carolina State University and then transferred to Cornell in June 1966. During the summers of 1967 and 1968 he worked at the Department of Entomology of the United States National Museum, where he was the recipient of two graduate research assistantships provided by the Smithsonian Institution. He moved to California where he did research for the University of California at Berkeley and got a PhD in entomology in 1980. For his doctoral research, he focused on the systematics and biology of the day‑flying moth genus Macromeme (Lepidoptera: Ctenuchidae). This research was later published by the University of California Press.

In 1988 he enrolled in a two-year study in England wherein he became a master bookbinder. In 1989, he published a catalogue of bookbinding equipment found in the Great Hall Library at the Burghley House, Lincolnshire, England.

Robert returned to Albuquerque in 1991. He started an online bookstore, Hyleana Books. Its name reflected his continued interest in South America, it being the name of an extinct South American bird.

Bob loved hiking and traveling. He embarked on many weeks-long hiking trips around the world. These included trips to Nepal, Thailand, England, France, South America, and Mexico. He also lived for a while in Barcelona, Spain.

Bob was a kind and gentle soul. He will be missed.

Bob's Life Celebration details are to be announced.