Margaretta Shaw Stewart Dietrich, supporter of both state and national woman suffrage groups, was born and raised in Pennsylvania. In 1909 she married Charles H. Dietrich, who formerly had been a Nebraska governor (1901) and a United States Senator (1901-3), and they made their home in Hastings, Nebraska. He died in 1924.
Mrs. Dietrich was involved in the suffrage movement in Adams County and later, in 1919 became president of the state organization. In 1920 she was elected the first president of the Nebraska League of Women Voters, formerly called Nebraska Suffrage Association.
Beginning in 1921 she served five years as one of the regional directors on the board of the National League of Women Voters. Her influence caused the League to become active in promoting legislation to improve the welfare of women and children, to secure independent citizenship for married women, and to regulate child labor.
Mrs. Dietrich also was involved in community projects in Hastings. These included Sunnyside Home for dependent elderly, the Adams County Red Cross, and political organizations.
In 1927 Mrs. Dietrich moved to New Mexico where she worked to improve conditions for Indians in that state. She served as president of the New Mexico Association for Indian Affairs for twenty years and also lobbied for them in Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Dietrich died on January 13, 1961 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.