Diane Mae Briley

Diane Mae (Scott) Briley

Diane Mae Scott, daughter of Howard Blanchard Scott and Dorothy Mae Ward was born on September 11, 1938 in Portland Oregon.

Diane’s father, Howard, was a drapery designer and salesman and her mother, Dorothy, was an advertising artist for Charles F. Berg clothing store and F. W. Woolworth Company. It is not surprising knowing the talent Diane had as a seamstress and arts & crafts.

Diane moved to San Diego in 1945 at age 7 with her mother, father and brother Harry Dale Scott. Her childhood was a difficult one and she spent several years in foster care until Joe & Shirley Burnett took her into their loving home. With the Burnett’s Diane became a ‘daughter’ to Joe & Shirley and big sister to Rex, Dave & Joni.

Diane attended El Cajon Cuyamaca Elementary and graduated from El Cajon Valley High School in 1956. She met the love of her life, Dean Briley, at a high school Sock Hop and they married in Point Loma San Diego on February 14, 1957. Soon after Dean and Diane were the proud parents to 2 sons and 1 daughter.

Diane cared for her young children in many ways as a scout leader and Little League team mom, but her lifelong passion was sewing. From clothes for her daughter Sherrie and Sherrie’s dolls to a leisure suit for Dean, her sewing machine was always running; and she could make just about anything. One of my favorite stories was when she professed to make something in 30 minutes (and she was serious!) Well, she may not have met her self-imposed ½ hour deadline but it became her motto, and we laughed every time she said it.

As young boys often do, her sons Darryl and Craig brought home critters (some with sharp beaks and talons) for our family to raise. Soon our back yard became a small zoo with owls, crows, hawks and mice. Mom made sure they were all taken care of. We were the luckiest kids on the block!

Through the trials and tribulations of raising children, the joy of her life were her grandchildren. She was everything a Grammy could be. Every year she made boutique store quality Halloween costumes. Anything her granddaughter (granddaughter’s friends and even her granddaughter’s classmates) could think of, Grammy could create. Even traveling across the country didn’t stop her from mailing home her works of art. Her creativity was not exclusive to sewing. You could find her creating a house out of a large computer desk box (complete with lace curtains, a working front door and a mailbox), crawling on the floor paying Barbies, whipping up last minute costumes for front yard fashion shows or sewing unique and expertly crafted medical scrubs for her granddaughter the doctor; there wasn’t anything Grammy couldn’t make. Additionally, the pride she had for her grandchildren’s accomplishments was fierce. She could skillfully turn a seemingly unrelated conversation into an opportunity to share their latest accomplishment. And just like a true Grammy should, you couldn’t enter or leave her house without being fed! Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Tapioca pudding when you arrived and containers filled with delicious home cooked left overs when you left. She poured her love of being a Grammy into everything she did.

In 1994 Dean retired from Civil Service North Island and they hit the road in their truck and 5th wheel to see the United States. From San Diego to New York they saw the country; but the roots of El Cajon were calling and they returned home.

After her grandchildren were grown and Halloween costumes were no longer needed, she turned her talent into scrapbooking and inquisitive energy to genealogy. With thousands of hours of research; both on the computer and trips across the country, Diane traced our family tree back to the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock!

Diane taught us all so much. Her never ending love and kind hearted sprit will live forever in each of us.

God’s angels came for Diane on February 22, 2018. On this anniversary of your passing we miss you very much. While you were needed in heaven we are surround with the gifts of your love in the beautiful things you made and in life’s lessons you taught.

With our never ending love, your husband Dean Maurice Briley, sons Darryl Mark Briley, Craig Eugene Briley and daughter Sherrie Lynn (Briley) Aldrich. Granddaughters Danielle (Briley) Christensen, Julie Laure Aldrich, Megan Briley, Grandson Justin Briley and Great-granddaughter Cheyenne Christensen.