Diana Alice Deane

Diana Alice Deane, 94, of Carmel, passed away peacefully on October 21st, 2023, with her daughter Linda at her side playing her favorite singer Frank Sinatra.  Diana was born July 25, 1929, in Middlefork, IN to the late and dearly missed Ernest A. and Mary C. Dean. She grew up on a farm without indoor plumbing, where she still owns land, and milked cows twice a day while growing up. The only day out of the year that she did not milk cows was on her birthday, when her sister Carol suffered double duty. She graduated from Ball State University with a teaching degree and attended graduate school at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Diana was among a group of young women who started the Chi Omega sorority on the Ball State Campus, and she enjoyed reminiscing about her many friends and the college shenanigans that took place in Lucina Hall.

Diana was an elementary school teacher in Logansport, IN, Sarasota, FL, for the Army School in Germany, Long Beach, CA, and Aurora, CO.  Always a free spirit, she was briefly a member of a nudist colony in Florida explaining that it was more affordable compared to joining a country club on a teacher’s salary. It was in Nuremburg, Germany where she met her husband Clarence “Ted” Deane at the Officers Club.

Ted and Diana spent 21 years in the US Army where Ted received his Doctorate in Oral Surgery and retired as a Colonel. Married in 1959, they were together for 62 years until Ted passed away in 2021. Army wives are masters of adaptation. They know how to approach a new situation, get a house together, plan a move, and get the schools set up for the kids. Diana was a nurturing Mother, wife, and a sweet person. There was not a more loyal or revered woman, and she will be deeply missed.

Diana and Ted loved to travel, and they went around the world - traveled to 106 countries and all seven continents. Always the teacher, her infamous and elaborate photo albums are both educational and entertaining.

She was a long-time member of Carmel United Methodist Church.

Family and friends are invited to gather from 1:00 to 3:00 pm on Friday, November 17 at Flanner Buchanan-Carmel, where a memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm.

Diana was the widow of Clarence E. “Ted” Deane.  She is survived by her daughters, Tara L. Deane and Linda L. (husband Tim) Stevens, and her cherished granddaughter, Sophia D. Stevens.  She was preceded in death by her beloved parents and her sister, Carol A. Monical.

Ted and Diana will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery where Ted will be given full military honors. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Carmel United Methodist Church.