Diane Elizabeth Shimer

My mother was born Oct. 19, 1956, in Pittsburgh. She and her parents, two brothers and sister moved to Centerville when she was in elementary school. But she clung to her heritage, always rooting for the Steelers and insisting that Ben Roethlisberger was a perfect human specimen. After she graduated from Centerville High School, Mom began her career at Washington Manor, where she untangled Medicare and Medicaid red tape and helped countless people get the care they deserved. She adored the residents and her co-workers, many of whom became life-long friends. She helped a string of my friends get jobs at the Manor, which probably wasn't wise on her part. Most important, that's where I met Sarah, whom my mother adored. Our wedding day was one of the happiest days of Mom's too-short life. When Mom moved to Kettering Health Network, she made a new cadre of friends who were incredibly kind and thoughtful to her throughout her illness. There, she continued solving insurance issues, turning denials into claims paid. On evenings and weekends, she moonlighted at Jo-Jo's, as she called Joann Fabric Store, where she loved seeing what others could do with buttons, felt and a yard of gingham. Our family was the center of my mom's life. Our sons, Jacob and Bradley, delighted her, and she delighted in them. She loved telling her friends all their funny quips — for instance, Bradley’s announcement when he got off the bus after the first day of 1st grade, "I think I'm done with this." She relished our Sunday dinners together, talking to the boys on the phone and our road trips. My mom's best friend always was her sister, Carolyn. Before they lived together to take care of their mother, they talked every day on the phone, they went on vacations together, and they sang Jimmy Buffett songs together. VeVe — as I and a cast of boyhood friends called Carolyn — is a second mother to me, and Mom couldn't have gotten through her tough times without Carolyn by her side. Like my mom, Carolyn is courageous and strong beyond words. There's so much to tell about my mom. She believed in accents — elegant scarves, dangling earrings and bright nail polish. She could swoop her hair into a flawless French twist, and she believed in the magic of hair color and highlights. She gave my friends countless rides to school. During those rides, she even let us listen to music with curse words, as long as we didn’t use them in conversation; if we did, we had to pay the cuss jar. She made sure my high-school basketball teammates never went on the court hungry. Scrapbooking was Mom’s therapy, but it also was her gift to us. When some of the "John Hole 7" families, as my friends and their parents called themselves, organized a joint high school graduation party for us, all the other moms were digging in old shoeboxes for pictures to display. My mom, on the other hand, had my entire life chronicled in chapter scrapbooks. She had saved tickets, menus, napkins — you name it — from events and moments that would have been lost but for her belief that you can't have too many great memories. I cherish every single one that I have of her..,My mother was smart, witty, clever, generous and beautiful. She reveled in other people's joy and happiness. She always enjoyed making cookies and usually had a pitcher of margaritas ready. On behalf of all of us — Sarah, Jacob, Bradley, "Momol," Carolyn, Malia and me — thank you for your prayers and expressions of sympathy. We are so grateful for your love and support.,Diane Christian Shimer, 62, died Jan. 21, 2019, at Hospice of Dayton. She was preceded in death by her father, Daniel Christian; and her brother, Barry Christian. She is survived by her son, John Shimer (Sarah); her grandsons, Jacob and Bradley Shimer; her mother, Katie Christian, called "Momol"; her sister, Carolyn Christian; her brother, Dan Christian; her sister-in-law, Malia Christian; her nieces, Natalie (Jim) Hulsey and children Gabby and Avery; Tracy Christian; and Susie (Klayton) Hawkins and children Cash and Ava. The family will receive friends from 2 to 5 pm Sunday, January 27, 2019 at TOBIAS FUNERAL HOME-FAR HILLS CHAPEL, 5471 Far Hills Avenue at Rahn Road Dayton, Ohio 45429. Mass of Christian Burial 10:30 am Monday January 28, 2019 at Church of the Incarnation, 7415 Far Hills Avenue Centerville, Ohio 45459. Donations in memory of Diane may be made to the Hospice of Dayton Foundation, 324 Wilmington Ave., Dayton, OH 45420.