Kimberlee Dias

Kimberlee Dias, age 65, of Hughson, California passed away on Monday, February 28, 2022. Kim was born on March 3, 1956 in Ceres, California to Chet and Patricia DeVore. As a child Kim loved animals. She raised many rabbits as 4H projects and got her first horse, Pepper, at the age of eleven. This started Kim’s lifelong love for horses. Kim rode Pepper along the canal banks of Ceres almost every day after school. Summers were spent swimming in the canals with her friends when she wasn’t riding her horse. Kim graduated from Ceres High School in 1974.

In 1973, while cruising Whitmore Avenue in Ceres in her 1968 Mercury Cougar, Kim met a young man named Ron. Kim and Ron dated for several years and one day in 1979 Ron asked Chet for Kim’s hand in marriage. Chet agreed but no wedding date was set. On July 7, 1979 Ron pulled up in front of Kim’s house and she jumped in the car. Ron honked and sped off as Kim shouted to her parents and grandparents “we’re getting married”. Surprised by this news, Kim’s family got in their vehicle and set out to follow them. They caught up to Kim and Ron in Reno, Nevada where they wed that day. Together Kim and Ron had two children, Leslie and Vince. In 1987 the family moved to Hughson where Kim enjoyed raising her children and riding her beloved horses… her horses who, her children sometimes wondered if they were in fact “her favorites”.

In her later years Kim enjoyed spending time with her grandsons, Logan and Mason, and sharing her love for animals with them. They always looked forward to Grandma Kim treating them to a trip to McDonalds after a hard day’s work around the barn. Kim also enjoyed “horsing around” with her “buddy” Bonnie. They would travel to various horse events, often getting lost along the way because neither of them could follow the directions.

Kim never met a stranger and enjoyed the company of customers she encountered throughout her day. She worked at Crossroads Feed and Ranch Supply for 20 years where she shared her love for horses with anyone who came through the door. She made many friends who would travel from out of town to go to Crossroads for her advice about a horse issue. After the closure of Crossroads Kim nervously went to work for Walmart Neighborhood Market in Turlock where she conquered her fear of technology. She worked there nearly 6 years and made friends with her co-workers and many customers, often sharing stories about her family and her horses. Kim would share “Walmart stories” with her family, telling them about all the great people she worked with and the nice customers she met daily. Kim thoroughly enjoyed working and mingling with people.

Kim is survived by her mother Patricia DeVore, daughter Leslie (Matt) Rossi, son Vince Dias, grandsons Logan and Mason Rossi, Sister Vickie Sexton, “buddy” Bonnie Jeffrey, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends… and of course her beloved horses Tucker, Sis, and Rose and her dog Chloe.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Oakdale Equine Rescue at www.oakdaleequinerescue.org or the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.

A funeral service for Kimberlee will be held Saturday, March 12, 2022 from 10:00 AM at Lakewood Funeral Home in the Riverside Chapel, 900 Santa Fe Ave, Hughson, CA 95326. Following the funeral service will be a committal service from at Lakewood Memorial Park - Evergreen Garden, 900 Santa Fe Ave, Hughson, CA 95326.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.LakewoodHughson.com for the Dias family.