Diane was born January 24, 1936 in Ellis Grove, Illinois to Ina and Melvin Montroy. After graduating Sparta Township High School in 1954, Diane attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois and graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and minors in Mathematics and Sociology. After graduation, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri where she worked at Barnes Hospital. 

In a wild hair moment, Diane moved to San Francisco, California. On a blind date in 1961, she met San Rafael native Don Ertman, who she notably said she didn’t really like at first. He won her over and 6 weeks later, on July 15, 1961, they were married. Diane and Don lived in Reno, Nevada for a short while then moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where their first son, Don Jr. was born in 1963. They moved back to the Bay Area where their other two children, David and Deborah, were born. In 1974, Don’s job took them to Helena, Montana where Diane worked as a Chemist for the State of Montana. She was active in Christian Women’s Club, Bible Study Fellowship and league bowling. Don passed away in 1991, just short of their 30th wedding anniversary. Diane lived in Helena until 1996 when there was news of a first grandchild coming. She retired and moved to Meridian, Idaho to be close to family. She found a house in the same neighborhood as Deborah and lived 4 blocks away until 2023 when she moved into an assisted living apartment. 

Diane lived in many places, but wherever she was she connected with her neighbors. She was an avid walker and would meet people literally where they lived. Even when life took her to an assisted living facility, she would still walk her 2-3 miles a day and knew everything that was going on. She was a staff favorite. She was known for her kindness, her bluntness, and her bright spirit. She once said she had never been bored in her life. She was a great cook and loved having people over for dinner. She was an avid reader (books and every sign she saw) and never missed a birthday or anniversary of family. She loved dogs, white wine and ice cream. 

Diane loved the color of God’s paintbrush shown in the beauty of sunrises and sunsets and fall foliage. Her social media was full of pictures of these from her walks and they were often shared by her and to her by text message. 

Diane was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Don; and nephew, Matthew Montroy. She is survived by her children: Don (Tammie) Ertman, David (Kandice) Ertman, and Deborah (Darin) Johnson; grandchildren: Rachel Johnson, Grace (Kyle) Pinkston, Mickey Ertman, Matthew Ertman and Mason Ertman; brother, David (Rosemarie) Montroy; sister, Lynn (Sam) Hughes; nieces: Stephanie (Aaron) Rubach, Ingrid (Jeff) Berg; nephews: Tim Hughes and Chris (Julia) Montroy; and all their kids. She cherished every bit of her family.

Diane would want us to rejoice that she is no longer struggling and is now in the arms of Jesus and is reunited with her true love Don. 

A celebration of life is being planned.