Diane Elizabeth (Jones) Swart

Diane was born on October 17, 1945, in Glendale, California to Leslie (Red) and Marguerite Jones, and lived in California her entire life. Diane met Joe Swart in 1960, and they married on June 26, 1964. They had a son, Rob, in 1965 and a daughter, Melissa, in 1967. During the first years of their marriage, Joe and Diane lived in Anaheim, California, then moved to Mountain View in 1970, and finally to Santa Rosa in 1974. Their marriage was one of great love, affection, joy, laughter, and adventure.

She worked for J.C. Penney for 18 years, and then worked for the California State Automobile Association from 1990 until she retired in 2007. After retirement, Diane stayed busy walking/exercising, playing golf, sewing, and traveling. Diane and Joe traveled the world, taking 33 cruises to Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii, among other places. After Joe passed away, Diane continued to travel, taking more cruises to the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and additional European ports. She also took a trip with her church to Israel and traveled many times to visit family. She was always planning her next trip, even to the very end.

Diane and Joe were active members of the Sonoma Model A car club and the Corvettes of Sonoma County. They went on numerous trips with their car clubs and made many lifelong friends as a result.

She was a talented seamstress and enjoyed making clothes and costumes for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also made over 30 Raggedy Ann dolls, and it became a tradition for her to give a doll to the daughters of family and friends on their third birthdays. In recent years, she took up quilting, and made many quilts for family members.

Diane was incredibly proud of her family, always made time for them, and loved nothing more than to be around them. She was an extremely loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She would do anything for her family and was very generous with her time and attention.

After an unexpected and ultimately short battle with cancer, she passed away in her home two months before her 79th birthday. She is survived by her sister, Dorothy; her brother, Les (Bud); her son and daughter-in-law, Rob and Tracey Swart; her daughter and son-in-law, Melissa and Steve Usack and their daughter, Alexa; her grandson and wife, Thaddeaus and Elaine Swart, and their children Asher and Primrose; her granddaughter and husband, Molly and Josh Battenfield, and their children Declan, Jemma, and Finn; and numerous cousins, nephews, and nieces. She is preceded in death by her husband (Joe) and her parents.

Diane will be remembered for her great love for her family, her generosity, her thoughtfulness, her desire and willingness to help others, her loyalty, her love of travel and adventure, and her huge heart. She loved to be around people and help out in any way she could. She is greatly missed by her family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing her.

The memorial service will be held at 11:30am on Wednesday, August 28

at Spring Hills Church, 3700 Fulton Rd., Fulton, CA 95439

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Diane’s name can be made to:

·      The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (https://cholangiocarcinoma.org)

·      Anchor Health Hospice (https://www.anchorhpc.com/)

·      Spring Hills Church (https://www.springhills.org/give)

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