Days later, on Sept. 27, Dittman died.

“I really believe she used every last bit of resources she had to get through Friday and Saturday,” said Mary Schwaner, ghostwriter of Dittman’s memoir, “Stepping Stones.”

For her family members, Dittman’s appearance at the wedding wasn’t surprising.

“Mom was one speed, and that was full speed ahead,” Dawn Dittman Coronado, Dittman’s daughter, said.

Dittman was born to George A. Frampton and Cecil M. Frampton on Oct. 1, 1930, in Lincoln.

At 5 years old, Dittman set out on her first business venture.

Her father bought her a case of Coca-Cola in glass bottles, which she loaded into her small red wagon. She pulled the wagon around the neighborhood, selling the bottles with a small upcharge so she would have enough profit to buy a new case and repeat the process.

Dittman graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business in 1952 and 1955 with a bachelor’s and master’s in business management.

In 1955, Dittman married her husband, Marcus. The two ended up moving to Missouri with their three children to pursue a job opportunity for Marcus.

When Marcus died in April 1975, Dittman packed the family up to return to Lincoln so she could start working at her father’s bank.

Her father, who had been looking to retire, stepped down, and Dittman became the first female president of Cornhusker Bank in 1975, as well as the first female president of any bank in Lincoln or Omaha.

As the bank continued to grow under her leadership, so did Dittman’s successes.

She was the first woman to chair the Bryan Hospital Board of Directors in 1982, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in 1988, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce in 1992 and the Community Bankers Council in 1997.

In 1993, Dittman became the first woman named president of the Nebraska Bankers Association.

She was inducted into the Nebraska Business Hall of Fame in 1996 and was the Lincoln Journal Star Inspire Woman of the Year recipient in 2019.

“I don’t think she knew a brick wall,” Schwaner said.

Of course, such professional success as a woman during that time didn’t come without some challenges.

During her first year as president of the Nebraska Bankers Association, Dittman hosted a golf outing at the Country Club of Lincoln.

As was tradition, the president was to tee off first. However, when Dittman arrived to the tee box, a staff member stopped her, and told her it was not yet one o’clock.

At that time, women weren’t allowed to tee off until one o’clock, and it was still morning. But, with a smile, Dittman teed off anyway.

“That was another way of breaking barriers, just saying, you know, it’s my place to do this,” Schwaner said. “And I’m not going to be stopped from doing it because I’m a woman.”

During her time at Cornhusker Bank, she took a special interest in helping single mothers.

One of her children, John Dittman, currently CEO of the bank, said she seemed to have channeled some of her sorrow at losing her husband at such a young age into helping women who may have experienced something similar.

“It was hard,” John Dittman said. “I think there were things that she used as a result of that to move forward and also to help others.”

Helping others was something her family said Dittman enjoyed most, and her career path certainly gave her ample opportunity to do it.

“Work was never a drudgery for her,” John Dittman said. “It was fun. It was exciting. It was joyful, and it was an adventure.”

Whether it was banking, tennis, ping pong or traveling, Dittman seemed to have done it all.

So, when Dittman announced she was coming out with an autobiography at age 91, her family wasn’t surprised.

The title, “Stepping Stones,” comes from her favorite poem, “Princes and Kings,” which her family said she would often recite.

Dittman Coronado said her mother was always aware and grateful for the stepping stones she had been given in life, which helped her in turn lay out her own stepping stones for all those following in her footsteps.

At the end of the book, in a message to her grandchildren, Dittman wrote, “Look for the stepping stones and plant some of your own.”