Catherine Dianne Monroe

DiAnne was born November 15, 1943 in Cartersville, Georgia, the daughter of Ralph and Mary Catherine Payne Smith. She was the granddaughter of John Pleasant and Buna Gilstrap Smith, and Ernest Silas and O’Thella Donahoo Payne. She graduated from Cartersville High School in 1961, attended Western Carolina University and graduated with honors from Kennesaw State University with a degree in accounting. She retired in 2009 as the Business Manager of the Cartersville Country Club. She served as President and Director of the Etowah Valley Historical Society and as Chair of the CHS Class of 1961 Scholarship Fund from inception in 1985 until 2014. She loved the history of Cartersville’s East Side, Word War II, horseracing, and genealogy.

Surviving are two sons: Ralph Kipland “Kip” Monroe, his wife Brandi, and their children: Anna Catherine Monroe, Mary-Claire Evelyn Monroe, John Robert Evans “Jack” Monroe of Alexandria, Virginia; and her son James Durham “Jim” Monroe of Omaha, Nebraska. Two sisters: Martha Sue Smith and her husband Frank C. Vaughan, Jr., and Aileen Smith of Cartersville, Georgia; nieces and nephews include Ashlea and Todd Bailey, Mandy Vaughan of Cartersville, Georgia, and Allison and Jay Shaver, with their sons Jacob and Matthew of Dublin, California.

Funeral Services will be held Friday, February 13, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at Sam Jones Memorial United Methodist Church, 100 West Church Street, Cartersville, with The Reverend Mary Erickson officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery. Family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 12, 2015 at Owen Funeral Home, 12 Collins Drive, Cartersville.

Honorary pallbearers will be members and their families of the 1961 class of Cartersville High School.

The family would like to thank DiAnne’s caregivers: Amedisys Hospice, ABC Senior Services and Mrs. Brooklyn Watkins.

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Building Fund for the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 205 West Cherokee Avenue, or to the Etowah Scholarship Foundation at P.O. Box 1239, Cartersville, GA 30120 for the CHS class of 1961.

Owen Funeral Home, 12 Collins Drive, Cartersville, is in charge of the arrangements.