Mrs Diane Di (Wiesner) Els

Diane Els of Ooltewah, TN was born to Fritz and Kathy Wiesner on January 6, 1964 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She grew up in the Northcliff area, where she attended school and church.

After graduating from High School, she went on to college and earned diplomas in Public Relations and Personnel Management. Following graduation, she went on to work for several prominent South African companies in the field of administration and human resources.

During this time she started dating Norman, her future husband, who she’d known since schooldays, and through Northcliff Union Church, which they both attended at that time.

Norman and Diane married in June of 1995. Together, they had a son named Jason.

In January 2000, the family emigrated to the United States seeking new opportunities, where they initially lived in Charlotte, NC.

In July of 2001, the family relocated to Chattanooga. Within 6 months, the family had fallen in love with Chattanooga and have lived here ever since.

Because of visa restrictions, Diane volunteered as a teacher assistant at Apison Elementary, which Jason attended at the time. Once visa restrictions were lifted, Diane started paid employment as a substitute teacher, which transitioned into a teacher assistant role in the special needs and multi-handicapped classes at Apison.

After several years working in education, Diane changed paths and worked as a waitress at the Beyond the Garden Gate tearoom in Collegedale, in order to be able to spend time with Jason as he was growing up.

Around 2010, at the age of 46, Diane went back to college and completed two diploma courses in Medical Billing and Coding. Shortly thereafter, she began working for Spine Surgery Associates on Gunbarrel Road as a coder, and she has continued working in that capacity until the present.

One of her most significant milestones was becoming a naturalized American citizen in May of 2011.

Diane has always loved travelling, and has visited 16 countries including several in southern Africa, England, Ireland, Canada, and Mexico, as well as several Caribbean countries. In addition, she has visited 22 of the states in the USA, of which her recent trip to Alaska was a highlight.

Diane was always ready for an adventure, whether it was white water rafting, ballooning, gliding, going on safari, flying around Mt Denali in a seaplane, or going on a cruise ship.

During Covid, Diane concentrated on her garden, and took delight in the hummingbirds, bees and butterflies that were attracted to the garden. Diane enjoyed peaceful times outdoors with her Labrador Rosie. She also took delight in the deer, raccoons, squirrels and other wildlife that were regular visitors. She did however break into a jog recently when we had a bear visit the neighborhood and Diane had to take cover behind a nearby car!

Diane had a vey kind and generous nature, and enjoyed spoiling friends and family with gifts for those special occasions. Diane regularly gave back to her community by supporting the local charities and fundraisers.

Diane attended Silverdale Baptist Church, and her faith in Jesus Christ was an important facet of her life.

Diane is survived by her mother Kathy, her mother-in law Mavis, her brother Karl, her husband Norman, and her son Jason. In addition, she leaves behind her sister-in-law Esta, her nephew Kyle, her nephew Andrew and his wife Mie, and their son Benjamin. Finally, Diane was so looking forward to welcoming Lauren into our family when she and Jason marry in June of 2023.

Diane was our rock, and the glue that held our family together. Diane, your passing has left a massive hole in our lives, and you will be sorely missed.

A visitation will be held at Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory, & Florist – Valley View Chapel (7414 Old Lee Hwy.) on Saturday September 24, 2022 between 2:00pm to 4:00pm. A memorial service will follow at 4:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be given to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank chattfoodbank.org or the Chattanooga Humane Educational Society heschatt.org in honor of Diane.

Please share your thoughts and memories online at www.ChattanoogaValleyViewChapel.com

Arrangements by Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist – Valley View Chapel, 7414 Old Lee Highway, Chattanooga, TN 37421.

REMEMBERING MOM - by Jason Els

Mom

Just in case anyone has a doubt as to who we are honoring here today, I thought I’d start with how Mom would have introduced herself.

“Hello, my name is Diane, but you can just call me Princess Di.”

You know, I don’t feel prepared to give these remarks, simply because I’m not yet prepared for a life without Mom. All week long, we’ve been scrambling trying to figure out things and we keep winding up at the same crossroad - Mom would know.

And truly, she would. She would know which dishes went into which cabinets, where the extra paper towels could be found, and she even knew where all her chocolates & snacks disappeared to. (Point to Dad)

Anybody that knew Mom knew there was a system for everything. Mom was beyond organized and if something deviated from her system, she would always fix it or worse - she would give you an earful until you corrected the mistake. Which reminds me, if there is anyone from Spine Surgery Associates, Mom would want me to repeat a very common question she used to ask - “Doctors, have you locked your notes yet?”

Whether you received an earful from Mom or not, you almost certainly received her kindness and generosity as well. Mom wanted to give back to others as a reflection of the riches that were brought forth in her life. Whether she gave gifts, time, or even money, Mom made sure that when her cup was full, the abundance was shared to those who needed it.

A prime example of this is when I would visit home, Mom always would make a big deal about giving me a hug before I left, but of course it’s my Mom - I wanted to hug her anyway. But Mom wasn’t just hugging me - she was using it as an opportunity to slip a $20 bill in my pocket. So sorry Dad, that might be why your wallet was always so thin.

I will say, I’m going to miss traveling with Mom. From an early age, I traveled with both Mom and Dad a lot. I’ve gotten to experience so much with them. One of my favorite travel moments with Mom is when we went to the Grand Caymans in 2012. During that trip, Mom spent so much time swimming in the clear waters. At one point while swimming, she called to me and I looked over to see her on her back with her feet out of the water and she said “hey look, I’m two feet above sea level”. It was such a silly joke but that moment had us both laughing even as recently as I my own trip to the beach this past summer. On that same trip to the Grand Caymans, we also went to a part of the island called “Hell”, named after its volcanic rock formations. While we were there, Mom got herself a mango smoothie and very proudly said to us - “if anyone tells me to go to Hell, I’ll be able to tell them now that I’ve already been, the weather was excellent, and I even got a smoothie while I was there!”

Mom always knew how to get a laugh out of life, even if it was only her that was laughing. One story that Mom loved sharing involved a prank she played on her brother. When they were in high school, her brother was a prefect (like a hall monitor) and he would help catch students misbehaving. One particular day, Mom found herself at the top of a stairwell that had an outward facing balcony and a couple of students were there too that had filled a grocery bag with water. They asked Mom to hold it because they were going to get another bag filled. While holding it, Mom noticed her brother standing outside of the stairwell. So promptly, Mom threw the bag over the side and it landed on her brother, getting him soaked. Once her brother had realized what happened, he came bolting up the stairs and asked Mom if he saw who did it. She simply just told him that two guys went down the hall.

Continuing on with the laughs Mom created, she loved being able to have quick witty responses to people. If you called her short, she would simply say “I just didn’t need to grow as much as you.” If you called her hairstyle a little much, she’d say “well I’m a little much.” And if you dared fluster her, she’d say “I’ll smack you up man!”

Mom always knew how to bring smiles to people’s faces. But Mom had no greater smile than when she was with her family. I am very glad to remember times that we spent at our dining room table as a family. I am very glad to remember the times of visiting her parents, my Granny and Grandpa, as well as her brother and his family. It didn’t matter what we did, Mom was happy to be with family. In recent years, she started going to South Africa by herself just to spend time with her mom and when we would ask what she did on the trip, she’d say “I just spent time with Granny”. To Mom, time with family was most important. And I certainly won’t forget the wonderful amount of times I spent with Mom.

What I think I will miss most about Mom is being able to call her up and just talk. We could talk for hours about anything under the sun. Mom would always know how to respond to make me feel better, to calm me down, and even broaden my own perspective. She knew that sometimes I just need to get something off my chest and she always understood what I needed in the moment. Mom always did her best to take care of me, and I will forever be grateful.

Mom may no longer be with us, but so much of her lives on. As we move forward from this moment, we must remember the person that Mom was. When we have our next cup of tea, do so remembering her. When we donate to others, do it for you and do it for her. When you travel, remember that Mom would want you to fully enjoy and love that trip. And most of all, when you are with your family, be like Mom and enjoy every minute with them.

Thank you all for being here today. While Dad and I appreciate each and every one of you, I know that Mom would absolutely not enjoy having herself in the spotlight.