Dietrich Hermann Grunewald (1916-2003) was born in Oskarstöm, Sweden, to Eduard Grunewald (1873-1943), a German textile engineer and a Moravian missionary, and Elisabeth Feldmann (1882-1975), a trained vocalist and pianist. “Ditti,” as he was affectionately known, was the second youngest among five siblings. From an early age, he developed an appreciation of nature, which was complemented by a love of outdoors sports, such as swimming, soccer, skiing, sledding, and skating. However, his childhood was not without incident and tragedy. After moving to Helsingborg with his family in 1929, he was stricken with polio and rheumatic fever within two years after moving there, which tested his resolve and patience. Yet, even after triumphing over these afflictions, nothing could have prepared him for early adulthood and the life-changing event that lay ahead of him when at the age of 20, a devastating train accident shattered one of his knees, leaving him nearly incapacitated and questioning his future.