Diana R. Gregory, age 81 of Gahanna, Ohio died on Friday, August 12, 2022. Diana graduated from Columbus West High School in 1958 and Mount Carmel School of Nursing in 1963. She is very proud of the fact that three of her children, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson also graduated from Mount Carmel School of Nursing. Diana herself worked as a Registered Nurse for 53 years. Some of her extensive experience included acute care, restorative care, long-term care, and research. She developed expertise in psychiatric nursing working with children, adolescents and adults, achieving skills in crisis counseling, assessment, teaching, medication management and multidisciplinary coordination. Some of the places she worked include Mount Carmel Medical Center, OSU Coronary Prevention Program, Westerville Convalescent Center, Mount Carmel East Hospital, Hannah Neil Center for Children, Parkside Lodge, Franklin County Children’s Services, and North Central Mental Health Center.
One activity that Diana got the whole family involved in was horseback riding and showing. The family started with one horse, but later moved out to 11 acres and eventually owned 12 horses, 2 ponies, and 1 goat at the peak of their involvement. Diana and all four of her kids showed horses and were involved in 4-H. Tom, her husband, was a top field hand, horse groomer and tack cleaning expert for everyone in the family.
Most recently, Diana was a regular attender of the congregation of Central College Presbyterian Church. Previously, Diana had been a regular attender of Messiah UMC in Westerville, a member of Stonybrook UMC in Gahanna, and further back, a member of St. Matthew Catholic Church in Gahanna. Throughout her life she was a dedicated and enthusiastic member of all of those church choirs. She was also involved in a number of local organizations through the years, including Gahanna’s Singing Moms, The Worthington Songsters, Gahanna Community Theater, Gahanna Community Chorus, The Silvertones singing ensemble, Westerville Senior Center, and The Pedaling Parsons cycling club, where she and her dear friend Larry were by far the most “senior” cyclists in the group on their tandem bike. They would regularly cycle two or three times a week, often for 30 to 40 miles at a time. They even went on a number of extended cycling trips with the Pedaling Parsons, such as to Florida, the Natchez Trace Parkway, Lakeside to Chautauqua, and The Blue Ridge Parkway (this past fall), where they would bike during the day and stay in various churches at night. Diana was a performer at heart and enjoyed being in various performance groups with her sons, daughter, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren and good friends. She was part of a group of retirees who work with students on field trips to the restored Gahanna One-Room Schoolhouse, where Diana played the role of Susan B. Anthony for them. She also had a heart for supporting military veterans, as her husband and three of her children had served in the military. She was an Honor Flight Guardian and attended multiple “welcome home” celebrations for returning Honor Flight veterans at the John Glenn International Airport.
Diana was a dedicated Buckeyes fan and especially loved OSU football games. This church-going lady could have the mouth of a sailor at stressful moments in the games. She taught her grandkids the “other” words to the Michigan fight song, which they loved to scream-sing along with her at full blast. The other activities she loved were fishing, camping, going on vacations, and anything Disney-related. She loved renting large beach houses in Florida or the Outer Banks and having family members all there together making memories. The more people on the trip, the more fun it was for her.
Diana was preceded in death by her husband of 44 years, Thomas N. Gregory; her parents Arthur and Anita Robinson; her sister Sharon Keaney; and her brother-in-law William Keaney. Diana leaves to cherish her memory her four children, Tom (Karie) Gregory of Gahanna, Joe (Donna) Gregory of Gahanna, Cindy (Josh) Reeves of Wilmington Delaware, and John (Jeanette) Gregory of Blacklick; her eleven grandchildren Thomas, Josh, Matthew (Megan), Tony (Lindsey), Nick (Caitlin), Zack (Sheryl), Brittany (Adam), Jessica, Brayden, Zane and Calin; her great-grandchild Sean Patrick Gregory; and her longtime close companion Larry Johnson & his family.
Visitation will begin at 2:00 PM on Sunday, September 4 at SCHOEDINGER NORTHEAST FUNERAL HOME, 1051 E. Johnstown Rd. Gahanna, Ohio 43230. A Memorial service will follow at 3:30 PM with Pastor Ronald Lokhorst officiating. If you prefer, in lieu of flowers donations in Diana’s memory may be made to the Mount Carmel College of Nursing. Please make the check payable to the Mount Carmel Foundation and mail to: Mount Carmel Foundation, 6150 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43213. Or give online at https://donor.mountcarmelfoundation.org/mccn by selecting the designee of your choice and noting at the end that it is in memory of Diana Gregory.
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