Diane Marie Mendes do Amaral

Diane Marie (Schillerberg) Mendes do Amaral was born on August 10, 1943 in Denison, Iowa, daughter of Clarence Paul and Elizabeth Jean (Berens) Schillerberg. She passed away on April 15, 2017, at her home in Tumwater, Washington, at the age of 73. Diane grew up on her family farm northwest of Denison, with her two younger brothers, Dale and Alan. She received her primary education in a rural school in Hanover Township, and later graduated from Denison High School, class of 1961. She married her high school sweetheart, Mark Carstens, in 1963, and they started their own business with a food truck she named The Hurry Burger, in Ft Dodge, Iowa. She went on to become an X-ray technician in Iowa City, Iowa, and had two daughters, Marina and Doña. The family later moved to Japan, where she had the opportunity to travel throughout Asia, and study Japanese ink wash painting, Sumi-e, and flower arranging, Ikebana. She married her second husband, Paulo Mendes do Amaral, in 1980, and had one son, Alexander. She continued her education at the University of Iowa, and received her Master’s Degree in 1983. The family later moved to São Paulo, Brazil, where she taught art at the American private school, Escola Graduada, for three years. She later landed a teaching position at Onalaska High School, and settled in Tumwater, Washington. She taught Art and Family Science at OHS for over 20 years, and received the Washington State Secondary Art Educator of the Year Award in 1999. Upon her retirement from OHS in 2010, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where she lived for five years. While in Arizona, she obtained an Arizona Master Florist certification, and became a Certified Personal Trainer. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2015, she returned to Tumwater, Washington, to be closer to family. Having grown up on a farm, Diane loved animals of all kinds, and had many dogs, cats, and birds over the years. She never missed an Oscar-nominated movie, and had a particular affinity for Japanese and Egyptian art, history, and culture. She was a talented artist and educator, and touched the lives of countless students over the years. She loved to dance and loved to write. She loved her family, her friends, and her pets. She will be dearly missed by all. She is gone from our sight, but not from our minds. Those left to cherish her memory include her three children, Marina Carstens of Burke, Virginia, Doña Thewes and her husband Bill of Burke, Virginia, and Alexander Amaral and his wife Cristina of Tumwater, Washington; five grandchildren, Sophia, Liana, Patrick, Grace, and Gabriel; two brothers, Dale and his wife Candis of Denison, Iowa, and Alan and his wife Cheryl of Grantsburg, Wisconsin; nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. Please leave memories of Diane or condolences for her family in the Guestbook below.