Diana Lee Tittle Barnes was born to Henry M. and Phyllis R. Tittle, August 20, 1951 in Independence, Missouri and went to be with the Lord June 28, 2020. She passed away at Medical Center Hospital, Odessa, Texas of respiratory failure. She chose cremation. Services to be announced at a later date.
Diana leaves her husband of almost 49 years, Tim, her daughter Rhonda Sparks, of Kansas City, Missouri, her son Jay (Amy) Barnes, of Cape Coral, Florida, seven grandchildren, Joseph Dorsey, Jeremy Dorsey, Timothy Barnes, Dylan Barnes, Joshua Barnes, Bailey Barnes, Hayley Davis and 8 great-grandchildren, sister Deborah Tittle Stoner, nephew Matthew K. Stoner (Tanya M. Stoner) and their children, Shelby L. Stoner, Evan R. Stoner and Abby K. Stoner. She also leaves cousins, other relatives and friends too numerous to count, but who were extremely important to her.
Diana was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Phyllis Tittle, her daughter Cristy Barnes Smith and her sisters Belinda Sue and Denise Marie Tittle.
Diana was a 1969 graduate of Truman High School, Independence, Missouri.
Diana was employed as a tax examiner by Internal Revenue Service for more than twenty years. Diana liked her job. She liked helping taxpayers get the refund they deserved. She also liked catching those who submitted fraudulent returns. She was nothing if not a hard worker. She hated being forced to retire after her wreck.
If Diana could have been anything in life, she would have chosen to be an artist. While still in school, she painted a Madonna that was chosen to be published by Hallmark Cards. She hoped to attend Kansas City Art Institute, but family responsibilities took precedence. Although her artistic abilities rarely surfaced after she became a parent, she retained her love of art and her critical eye. She even had the patience to teach her husband better composition in photography.
When Diana had an interest in anything, she went full bore. She did nothing halfway. At the age of almost forty-two, she took up motorcycling. This developed into a passion that never died. She loved her motorcycle. She would ride alone. She would ride with other women. She would ride with her husband. One of her best memories involved riding with her daughter, Cristy, each on their own motorcycle, to a women's motorcycle weekend in Wisconsin. She also rode with one of her best friends to Sturgis one year. She helped start and was a charter member of a Women on Wheels chapter in the Kansas City area. She served, for a time, as treasurer of Women on Wheels International. Her love of riding never died, but her riding days ended on July 1, 2011, when a deer tried to jump over her and knocked her to the pavement in Nevada while on the way to a Women on Wheels rally in Redding, California. The injuries suffered from this accident resulted in numerous operations over the next few years and chronic pain for the rest of her life. Still, she said she would give anything to ride again. She was fortunate enough to attend the Women on Wheels Ride-In in Casper, Wyoming in July of 2019 for the first time in many years.
In 2008, Diana and Tim moved to Texas seeking a better climate for Diana's rheumatoid arthritis. She fell in love with the desert and the surrounding mountains. She loved the 360 degree sunsets. She loved the cactus flowers and the many wild flowers. She often said the vistas from the property were like being on vacation every day. She didn't believe she had many friends in Texas, but the ones she thought of as friends were dear to her.
The past few years, she has been involved in RVing. She loved traveling, seeing new places and visiting old friends. As with motorcycling, she made many friends in the camping community. Although she wasn't involved in camping for that long, she made an indelible impression on some and they are as despondent over her departure as her family. She will continue her travels with Tim.
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