Ana Isabel Mejia-Dietche

Ana Mejia-Dietche, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, and friend died on Saturday, February 24, 2024 surrounded by family at Ascension Seton Medical Center, following a year-long struggle with ovarian cancer.

Ana was born on February 4, 1962 in Omaha, Nebraska. Her earliest years were spent living in Nebraska, Virginia, and the Rio Grande Valley before her family settled in Corpus Christi, Texas in the late 1960s.

The family’s summer visits to Colombia throughout her childhood were filled with happy memories at her grandparents’ dairy farm outside Medellin, with its extensive gardens and house full of extended family. One memory particularly stands out: Ana would weave flower crowns for her grandmother’s birthday and enlist the help of all the willing cousins to carefully gather flowers.

Ana spent many of her school age years in Corpus Christi and graduated in 1980 from King High School where she played the French horn and was a self-proclaimed “band nerd.” (This experience would later come in handy when her sons Diego and Santiago joined the LBJ High School marching band, and she and her husband Chris became band nerds of a different kind by serving as volunteer managers of the Marching Jaguars.)

Accepted to her first-choice university, Ana moved to New Haven, Connecticut after graduation to attend Yale University, where she majored in English Language and Literature. She made many close friends at Yale, staying in touch with most of them throughout her life. Most significantly, Yale is where she met the love of her life, Chris Dietche, in 1982. While they were still in college, Chris followed Ana to Colombia for part of one summer, where their relationship deepened and together they charmed the whole family.

Not long after graduating, the couple moved to Washington, DC where Ana would attend law school at the Catholic University of America. During those years, in 1986, Ana and Chris married. In 1988, the couple’s first son, Diego, was born the same month that she graduated. During Ana’s time in Washington, she volunteered at Legal Aid where her passion for making a difference grew as she worked with troubled youths.

Following law school, she was hired for what would be her all-time favorite job— at the National Institutes of Health working at the Office of the General Counsel, Public Health Division. She left the position when Chris was accepted to the University of Texas for graduate school in 1990, and they moved to Austin.

Their second son, Santiago, was born in 1993. She would become a tireless volunteer mom and supported both of her sons’ many extracurricular activities.

Ana practiced health and employment law in Austin and then transitioned into leading the continuing education program for attorneys at the State Bar of Texas. She also began serving on the boards of directors for various nonprofit organizations that focused on women and law, women’s history, family violence, and children. She fell in love with nonprofit management and grant writing, which would lead her to Austin Community College to work as a grant writer.

Building on relationships developed from that experience, she then worked as the director of the Healthcare Workforce Alliance of Central Texas, running all aspects of that organization for 15 years. In 2005, she rejoined ACC as an adjunct faculty member, teaching classes on grant writing and entrepreneurship.

A common thread through Ana’s career and volunteer work was to make a difference from behind the scenes, seeking the spotlight for the causes and the people she cared about rather than for herself. Ana considered herself a shy person, but at the same time she drew energy from people, and loved being part of her supper club and the Austin book club where she was a member for nearly 30 years. But Ana was never just a member of anything—she was always incredibly generous with her gifts and her time, stepping up to make food, plan outings and trips, and organize gifts or help for people who were ill, bereaved, or having relationship troubles.

Of course, Ana’s advocacy was expressed most powerfully on behalf of her sons, Diego and Santiago. She loved them unreservedly, teaching them by example to become loving, kind people, and always encouraging and supporting their interests and directions in life. Like their mother they grew up to be smart and talented, and blessed with the gifts of cultivating friendships and caring deeply about other people and causes.

Diego died tragically on June 22, 2021, in Eugene, Oregon following a car accident.

In addition to family, work, and volunteering, Ana was a voracious reader, a talented gardener who loved all kinds of plants, and a “serial hobbyist.” She took many hands-on art classes at Austin Community College, including fused glass, upholstery, web design, floral design, cooking, and ceramics. She developed an enduring passion for ceramics and loved her “clay posse” of students in the program who spent many hours together creating pieces.

Just one month ago one of Ana’s fondest dreams was realized when her granddaughter Esme came into the world. On the last full day of her life, Ana spent a beautiful afternoon with Esme and her family.

Ana is survived by her husband Chris, son Santiago and his wife Amanda Castroverde, and granddaughter Esme Dietche; parents Roberto and Monica Mejia, beloved sisters Angela and Beatriz, and brother Juan Mejia; sister-in-law Alissa Mejia and brother-in-law Pedro Amieva; nieces Lia, Maya, and Luci and nephews Lucas and Cheo.

On Chris’ side, Ana is survived by sister-in-law Sarah and brother-in-law Nels Fugelsang, and brother-in-law David and sister-in-law Dana Dietche and their children: Ella, George, Clare, Christian, Caroline, and William. She is also survived by many aunts, uncles, and cousins in Colombia and the United States.

In addition to her son Diego, Ana was predeceased by her mother-in-law Julie Mathiesen, father -in-law Paul Dietche, Sr. and his wife Jane, and nephew Tomas.

The service will also be livestreamed at http://staustin.org/mass and will remain available online for later viewing. A reception at the church will follow, and from 2-5 p.m. there will be a casual gathering open to all at Ana and Chris’ home.

Because it’s the Lenten season, St. Austin’s has asked us to limit the number of flowers at the service.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider a donation to the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association Scholarship Fund (note in memo that the donation is in honor of Ana, who served on the board of the organization), the Austin nonprofit Capital Idea, or to an upcoming project to be announced later in support of Austin Community College’s ceramics program.