Dianne Jean Walton, whose skills in arts and crafts won her many awards and whose love of Bowling Green State University knew no bounds, passed away Tuesday, April 4 at The Bridge Hospice in Bowling Green, where her body, but not her spirit, finally yielded to the insidious cancer that had been part of her life for nearly 20 years.
She was born Dianne Jean Savage on Sept. 17, 1943, in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of William and Erma Savage, and grew up in the small Delaware County community of Ashley. Dianne graduated from Elm Valley High School in 1961, third in her class academically. She enrolled at BGSU, earning a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in 1965 and beginning a lifetime of service and support for her alma mater.
She joined Kappa Delta Sorority as an undergraduate and remained active in sorority activities for many years as an alumna. It was at a Kappa Delta social event that she met her future husband, Tom. They were married Aug. 28, 1965, three months after their graduation from BGSU, on her mother’s birthday. Many years later, the sorority named its chapter house lounge in her honor for all her work on the sorority’s behalf, and Kappa Delta presented her with its highest honor, the Order of the Pearl, at its national convention several years ago.
She was a member of the BGSU President’s Club. A big fan of BGSU athletics and a member of the Falcon Club, she established a scholarship to help fund the expenses of the university mascots, Freddie and Frieda Falcon. She also helped send undergraduate delegates to her sorority’s national convention.
She moved to Monterey, California, in 1975 when her husband was transferred there by Block Communications, Inc., publisher of The Blade and, at the time, the Monterey Peninsula Herald. They lived in Monterey until 1988, when they returned to Ohio. During her family’s years in Monterey, she established her own stained glass business called “Splendor in the Glass” and sold her creations at shops in Carmel and along Monterey’s Cannery Row. Her creativity and imagination earned her many honors in arts and crafts media, including blue ribbons won as recently as last year’s Wood County Fair. Many years ago when her husband’s office at The Blade was remodeled, she asked for the old drapes, which were about to be discarded. The drapes’ design was historic front pages from The Blade. She made several teddy bears from the fabric and gave them to family and friends. Not surprisingly, given her generous spirit, the Christmas holidays were her favorite time of the year. One Christmas season she made a personalized Christmas ornament for every household in Williamsburg-on-the-River near Grand Rapids. She hand-painted each one on balsa, working from photographs taken of every house for the project, and delivered them to her neighbors. She was so proud when her home was chosen for the Wood County Friends of the Library holiday home tour in 2001.
Dianne loved the Girl Scouts and served as a troop leader and volunteer for years while her daughter was a Scout. She was Girl Scout cookie chairman for many years on the Monterey Peninsula. She considered stay-at-home mom to be her profession and took jobs outside the home only if they were fun. She managed an ice cream shop. She worked at a fabric store. As a teenager, her summer job each year was at a factory in her hometown that made blue ribbons and rosettes, one by one, for county fairs, horse shows, and other events around the country. A talented writer, she once wrote a children’s book called “Ollie the Unwise Owl.” She also wrote a poem called “I Married the Newspaper,” a nod to the long hours of her newspaper editor husband. She read it to a convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, making hundreds of people laugh. She was good at that.
Dianne loved sunsets. She traveled extensively and was especially fond of cruising. Over the years her travels took her to Europe, South America, Alaska, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean. However, no matter how far from home she roamed, her favorite vacation spot was just five hours away by car — Indian River, Michigan. Her happiest memories of her childhood were her family’s annual summer fishing trips to Indian River. Over the years Dianne returned to Indian River several times when she had a family of her own.
She enjoyed flying and always insisted on the window seat. She soared in a glider and floated in a hot-air balloon. She also loved the outdoors, especially Yosemite National Park. She enjoyed camping and was excited when she and Tom acquired a motor home. She named it Harvey the RV. Harvey took her and Tom to Florida, the upper Midwest, Cooperstown, N.Y., and the national parks of the West. Although not a baseball fan, she traveled frequently with her husband when he competed in baseball tournaments in Arizona, Florida, and New York. “He goes to his games,” she once said. “I go to the pool.”
She faced health challenges in her life, but her sense of humor never wavered. Prior to cancer surgery in 1998, she was being hooked up to an IV line. “That had better be pina coladas in there,” she said. In 2004, she was privileged to serve as honorary chairman of the Wood County Relay for Life. Cancer returned in 2008 and a third time earlier this year.
Dianne is survived by her husband of 52 years, Tom, a daughter, Sheila McCallum of Birmingham, Ala., son Justin of Germantown, Ohio, grandchildren Kelley and Gregory McCallum, and Clara, Lillian, Katie, and Titus Walton, and the best four-legged caregiver she ever had, a rescue dog named Bailey. Two half-brothers preceded her in death.
A celebration of Dianne’s life will be held Sunday April 9 at 2 p.m. at Deck-Hanneman Funeral Home & Crematory, 1460 W. Wooster St., Bowling Green, Ohio 43402. As much as she loved flowers, Dianne loved Bailey more. The family suggests that any memorials be to the Wood County Humane Society, 801 Van Camp Rd., Bowling Green, 43402, or to The Bridge Hospice, 15100 Birchaven Lane, Findlay OH 45840.
