Diane Spath

Diane was born on October 17,1947 at Longmont United Hospital to Reuben and Betty (Fulcomer) Laabs. She graduated from Longmont High School in 1965. After graduating, she attended Wheat Ridge Beauty School and became a licensed beautician. She then worked at a salon in Boulder for a few years.

Diane met her husband Barry Spath when they were in second grade. She had a crush on Barry right away but it took awhile before Barry reciprocated! They were friends and ran in the same circle all through school. After graduating, they eventually became a couple and got married on April 6, 1968 at a church in Longmont. Barry and Diane were just a few weeks shy of celebrating their 56th anniversary when she passed.

One of Diane's biggest goals in life was to become a mother. She achieved this on October 13,1973 when their daughter Julie was born. Barry and Diane completed their family on July 11, 1976 when their son Kent was born. Diane was a very involved parent, helping out with 4-H clubs when her kids were young and then staying very busy attending their various sporting activities as they got older. She knew all of her kids friends and always welcomed them into her home with open arms. Barry and Diane valued spending time with family and friends and raised their kids around a very special group of friends with similar values and interests. There was a lot of time spent camping, boating, snow skiing and gathering at each other's houses.

Diane was a stay at home mom until Julie and Kent were both in school. After that, she worked at a variety of jobs over the years. Some of the places she worked included Flynn Welding, Dr. Beery Dentistry, Niwot Dental and Longmont United Hospital. She ended up retiring in 2011.

Diane loved to travel and got to do a fair amount of this with Barry. Over the last 10-15 years, they were able to go on multiple cruises, visited several states and even went on a trip to Mexico to celebrate Diane's 70th birthday. Sometimes they traveled alone and sometimes they were joined by friends or family. She also was always up for a drive to Estes Park or Rocky Mountain National Park to look for wildlife.

Diane was a great friend to many. She loved to smile, laugh, talk and listen. She really enjoyed going out in town to see who she might run into that she hadn't seen in awhile. One place that she was able to build and strengthen some beautiful friendships was in a group that she was involved with called WOW which stood for “ Wise Old Women". They would gather at each other's houses for “meetings" and also went on annual "convention” trips to various locations. The meetings and conventions were really just code for getting together and building a wonderful support network of women. Their motto was "We arrive upon this earth alone. We depart alone. This time called life is meant to be shared.”

In addition to being a friend to so many and a wonderful, loving wife and mother, she also was blessed with three grandsons who were her pride and joy. She was their biggest cheerleader and would talk endlessly about their accomplishments and activities to anyone who would listen. She loved her family fiercely and valued time together with both immediate and extended family. This time together more often than not involved delicious meals.

Diane is survived by her husband Barry Spath; daughter Julie Reiff (Quinton Reiff) of Mead, CO; son Kent Spath (Hope Redden) of Pueblo West, CO; 3 grandsons, Mason Spath (age 16), Beckett Reiff (age 16) and Teagan Reiff (age 13); and various nieces and one nephew. She was preceded in death by her parents Reuben and Betty Laabs and her brother Gary Laabs.

Although Diane is no longer with us, she will not be forgotten by all those who she came into contact with during her time on Earth. Please visit www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com to share stories, memories and condolences. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that contributions be made to either the Tiny Tim Center or the Longmont Humane Society in memory of Diane.

A memorial service will be held at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel on Friday, April 26th at 1:00 pm. There will then be an internment at Longmont Mountain View Cemetery for close family only. After that, the family invites anyone who would like to come to a celebration of life at a family members property northwest of Mead. Directions to the celebration will be given following the service. If you're wanting to attend the celebration of life but not able to attend the service at Ahlbergs, please reach out to Barry, Julie or Kent for more information.