diana50

There goes another that helped me so much n the beginning of all this. I am very saddened by this news. It sounded like she was rallying there for awhile. God, I hate this. Rest in peace Diana and thank you so much for your kind and optimistic support.

She was indeed very special. So sad that cancer finally had its day. I'm sorry, Mamita, that you have lost another friend.

Thank you mamita. Hope her friends and family find peace and comfort. Diana you were an inspiration. May you ride many miles pain free in heaven.

Somehow I didn't "know" Diana, but in reading all your wonderful memories of her here, I wish I had. She sounds like she had an amazing spirit & hope that we can all take a small piece of her as inspiration. Condolences to all those who loved her. GG

Rest in peace and may your soul achieve eternal peac

Like so many others here, I admired Diana's spirit, she was the epitome of living life to the fullest. I am so sad to read that she has passed. I was going to write rest in peace, but Diana didn't seem to be all that into resting, so I will picture her instead in that speedboat, driving full speed into the sun. We will miss you Diana.

So far I haven't seen this in our local newspaper, but it was posted on her FB wall, and I'm sharing it here with her family's permission. I've also given them a link to this thread so that they will know how much Diana was loved and admired here. Deanna

This is Diana's obituary. She wrote it herself about a year ago.

Diana Lynn Mehrens was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, June 30, 1952, to Dr. Donald and Barbara Mehrens. She spent her childhood playing outdoors and participating in sports. Diana graduated from South Dakota State where she was an athlete: basketball, volleyball, field hockey and track. After graduating college she taught at Watertown South Dakota for two years. She then attended the University of Iowa and received her Master in Education after which she moved to Pasadena, CA.

In Pasadena she was teacher, coach and athletic director at Westridge School for Girls until 1992. She then attended Cal State at LA and received her Master in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Moving to Palm Desert, California, in 1993, she started working as a child therapist at Barbara Sinatra Children's Center until 1999. Diana then was blessed to do humanitarian work in Eastern Europe from 1999-2001; 9 trips into Romania. After the humanitarian work in 2001, Diana worked in Yucca Valley as a child therapist until she retired in 2008.

In 2002 Diana was diagnosed with breast cancer. After chemo, rads, surgery and oral treatment she was cancer free until 2012. In August of 2012 she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Diana died 5/18/2016 of metastatic breast cancer.

Family members include Linda Mehrens, nephew Tate Nolte, nieces Jenny Knuth and Amy Peters. She was preceded in death by two brothers and both parents. She is also survived by numerous friends, her two cats Coo Coo and Walley and special dog Barney whom Diana walked every morning since 2009. Diana was an animal lover from age 5.

There will be no services. Diana donated her body to Loma Linda for research purposes. Please donate to a charity in her name, such as Desert Cancer Foundation or any animal rescue site.

Diana loved the desert. She also would say, "I've had a wonderful life and I know it. No complaints. Life was wonderful."

Deanna

This FB post is beautiful, just like Diana. Thank you for sharing.

Amy

nothing to say but RIP dear Diana.. Mamita huge hugs.. Knowing what's it like to lose a close friend..

Ebr

Diana. This is a sad day - the day I learned you were gone. You were such a positive light on the stage 3 boards and gave me hope (when I was diagnosed in 2009) at a time when I truly thought there was none. It is with a heavy heart that I let you go. Ride free brave soul. You will be sorely missed and never forgotten. Hx

Mamita, thank you for letting us know. This is so sad, i loved Diana she was such an optimistic soul. We had pmd on the 6 of may her calcium levels were very high. She wrote she hoped she was still alive to get another chemo. I am devastated and i am sorry for the loss of both your friends Diana and Kerry. Rest in peace Diana , you will be greatly missed.

speechless...I did not realize...I too loved her spunky, positive spirit! What an awesome lady. May she rest in peace. My condolences to her family and friends

I happened to come across an article today that had appeared in a recent issue of a magazine our local hospital publishes. I thought those of you who were close to Diana would especially enjoy seeing it. https://www.emc.org/info-center/?action=detail&sou...

Thank you for posting the article dlb. I wonder when that interview was done? She had such an amazingly positive outlook and spirit.

Deanna,

I too thank you for the article. It was great to see her photo and read how she lived and what inspired her positive outlook. I am sure she is enjoying her new "life" after life. Blessings to all. rosevalley