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Merton L. "Cap" Dierks spent years serving as an advocate for agriculture and rural Nebraska issues, including education, wind energy development and the right to life.

The longtime Ewing resident and former Nebraska legislator, died Friday, Oct. 22, from complications following a stroke, at Arbor Care Center, in O'Neill.

Dierks was 89.

His love of rural Nebraska began at birth, at his family's ranch, comprising six sections near Goose Lake, in southeastern Holt County.

The ranch included a sod house, built by his grandfather, Wilkie Dierks.

Dierks attended St. Mary's Academy, in O'Neill, and graduated from Ewing Public Schools in 1950.

He ventured to Lincoln to study agriculture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While there, Dierks joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Upon graduation, he was stationed for two years at Smoky Hill Airfield, Schilling Air Force Base, near Salina, Kansas.

When his enlistment concluded, Dierks enrolled at Kansas State College, in Manhattan, to receive his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree.

Here, he met the love of his life, Gloria Zoeller. The couple married in 1958 and returned to Ewing. Cap established a veterinary practice here.

Gloria became involved in community and church activities, and together, the couple raised four children: Jon, Tom, Chris and Stephanie.

A tireless worker, Dierks assumed operation of the Dierks family ranch in 1968, following the death of his father, Lyle. His veterinary practice continued to grow.

That same year, he dipped his toes into the political arena, filling a seat on the Ewing Public Schools Board of Education, a position he served for 13 years.

During his tenure, the high school and gymnasium were constructed in 1971.

He served on the St. Anthony's Hospital Board, in O'Neill, for a number of years.

Dierks campaigned for Sen. John DeCamp, of Neligh, and gained valuable experience.

In 1986, Dierks felt rural concerns weren't receiving due justice in Lincoln. He filed for the District 40 legislative seat, ran on the democratic ticket and won.

After election, the Ewing native switched party affiliations and served for 20 years, from 1987 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2011.

Dierks chaired the statehouse's Agriculture Committee and served on the Committee on Committees, General Affairs, Revenue and State-Tribal Relations committees.

He retired from his veterinary practice in 1992.

He continued to lobby for rural concerns after leaving office. He will be remembered for his work on the Competitive Livestock Markets Act in 1998 and commitment to food safety, animal welfare, ethanol and ag market reforms.

Dierks was named Veterinarian of the Year in 1986 by the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association. In 2005, he received the Alumni Recognition Award from the Kansas State College of Veterinary Medicine.

He was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement in 2010. In 2018, Dierks was named to the Ewing Hall of Fame.

U.S. Senator Deb Fischer offered praise for her fellow colleague. The two worked together in the Unicameral.

"I met Senator Dierks in the 1980s when I joined many rural school advocates from across Nebraska in representing our state's rural K-12 schools. He was a champion in the Nebraska legislature for our state's children and our state's school districts. Cap became a close friend when I had the honor of serving with him during his second tenure in the Unicameral from 2007 to 2011. He was always a gentleman, sincere and honest in every relationship and he had the deep respect of all who knew him. He will be missed," Fischer said.

Services will be held Friday, at 10:30 a.m., at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Ewing. Burial will be in St. Peter's Catholic cemetery, with military rites by the Ewing Sanders American Post 214.