Dianne Brown MacDiarmid

Dianne was born into the Brown family as Barbara Dianne Brown in the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles, Texas in mid-1952. Like many country girls, Dianne grew up with an appreciation for hard work, dusty clothes and fine horses. She shared a humble 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with her parents and 6 siblings, never complaining or grumbling of not having the finer things in life. Her parents, being big believers in the American dream instilled in her a voracious work ethic, which carried her out of her humble beginnings to the campus of Texas A&M.

While in Aggieland, Dianne cultivated two great loves: teaching young children and her husband of 46 years, John MacDiarmid. They began their life together shortly following their graduation from college. In the early years of their marriage they lived in many of the small towns of the Texas Gulf Coast, with Dianne teaching reading and writing to often poor elementary school students. Nothing gave her more joy than opening the worlds of rural children through reading. Eventually settling in Johns hometown of San Antonio, they had 3 boys, which pulled Dianne from the classroom to her favorite job of being a stay-at-home mom.

Dianne was the consummate mother. She would never hesitate to have her sons backs if they were in the right. Conversely, she would also never hesitate to smack them upside the head if they did something wrong. She believed firmly in the idea that her job was not to be her childrens friend, but raise them to be good human beings. She never cared if she was cool, she cared if she was doing what was right. This strong moral courage often brought her in to conflict with people of lesser character, usually to their detriment. She taught her sons to read at an early age and always indulged her love of books while teaching them to do the same. Over the years she amassed a large library, most of which evidenced her morbid love of murder mysteries. Some of her other great enthusiasms included: singing while doing dishes, attending all of her boys events, worshipping God, classical music, Willie Nelson (to contrast her classical streak), cursing like a sailor while driving, dressing to the nines and fine horses.

After her youngest was in school Dianne went back to work, helping turn Johns small oil and gas firm into a financial success. She was loved by those who worked closely with her and feared by government bureaucrats. Never suffering fools lightly, she had no problem telling folks what the score was. She was a staple in the office of common sense and fierce loyalty to her husband and the company they worked so hard to build together.

She was also known as someone who wished to help others when they struggled in life. Never being self-congratulatory, her acts of kindness and philanthropy were only realized years later when those she assisted came forward to offer stories on how she had helped them. Coming from humble beginnings, she was keenly aware of others struggles and never hesitated to give them a hand up. Her giving spirit was a key feature of her strong belief that all of her blessings came from above.

After becoming a grandmother, Diannes motherly spirit shifted to her grandchildren. Known as "Darlin," Dianne would always drop everything anytime her children needed her advice, help or company. She was a fixture at sporting events, school graduations and birthdays.

Dianne went home to live in perpetuity with Christ; her father, Vernon Brown; and her sisters, Joan Stokes and Loretta Brown. She is survived by her mother, Madeline Brown. She is also survived and beloved in the hearts of her husband, John; her three sons Josh, Ian and Cameron and their wives, as well as her adopted (informally) son, George Sakai. She also is survived by her eight grandchildren: Jackson, Patton, Amelia, Madeline, Gregor, Wyatt, Campbell, and Scout.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Daniel Rivera Memorial Scholarship Fund at Central Catholic High School. Make A Gift Giving Central Catholic High School (cchs-satx.org)