Obituaries

January 12, 1952 to October 15, 2011

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Word has been received of the death of Douglas Russell Dilts, 59, of Jakarta, who passed away suddenly Saturday, Oct. 15, while in the field working on a community development initiative in Sumatra, Indonesia.

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on Jan. 12, 1952, to the late Russell Allen and Mary Charlotte Fritz Dilts, who were originally from Winamac. The family moved from Cincinnati to Augusta, Ga., in 1962.

He married Wahyu Setyowati in Solo, Indonesia in 1985 and together they raised five children, Bayu Dilts, Bima Dilts, Sari Dilts, Yudhistira Dilts, and Dewo Dilts. He is also survived by his sisters, Barbara Dilts of San Francisco and Martha Dilts of Seattle, and several first cousins in Winamac.

Mr. Dilts graduated from the Academy of Richmond County, Augusta, in 1970 where he was honored to serve as the Cadet Colonel. He graduated from Stanford University in 1974 and later received his doctorate of education in international education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1988.

After spending a season working on the Alaskan Pipeline to pay off student loans, he first went to Indonesia with Stanford's Volunteers in Asia program in 1975. He then worked for World Education in Indonesia and Thailand. He also led the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Integrated Pest Management System program starting in Indonesia and expanding to 12 Asian countries. Most recently, Mr. Dilts was the regional coordinator for USAID's Environmental Services program in North Sumatra following the 2005 tsunami.

He spent more than 30 years in Indonesia leading development initiatives ranging from adult education to farmer extension to community-based natural resources management. He was known and loved by his friends and colleagues for his unique ability to inspire them to achieve more than they thought possible. He was firmly committed to the rights and dignity of all people, and his work provided voice to millions of farmers and rural poor to organize and achieve a better life.

Mr. Dilts and his wife Wahyu established the Dilts Foundation www.diltsfoundation.org or www.facebook.com/diltsfoundation in 1995 that works with street children and poor urban communities to provide education, employment training, and medical care.

He was buried in the San Diego Hills Cemetery in Karawang, West Java.

Donations to continue his charitable work with children in Jakarta may be sent to:
Barbara Dilts (checks payable to Barbara Dilts)
51 Norwood Avenue
Kensington, CA 94707