Mary was born on July 29, 1955, the eldest child of Walter and Elma Baumann. She married Albert Diehl II, also of Columbia, her loving and slightly oblivious husband of over 50 years in 1973.
She graduated from Columbia High School and then from Southwestern Illinois College with an Associate's Degree in Nursing in 1980. She would later obtain both her Bachelor of Science and her Master of Science in Nursing, which was truly Mary's passion. She worked at Mercy Hospital in St Louis for over 30 years before becoming the clinical director of a surgical center in Sunset Hills.
When her children settled in Atlanta, she made the brave move from the small town where she was born and raised, to Georgia, to become the Director of PACU, Outpatient Surgery, PAT Clinic, and Endoscopy Labs at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta's Level 1 Trauma Center and the inner-city hospital. She would soon become the local homeless community's most reliable Starbucks supplier. She embodied every aspect of a nurse, was fiercely protective of her patients, championed safety and quality care, and was never too shy to tell a doctor when they were wrong. She even had her opinion piece on the importance of the nursing profession published earlier this year in the St Louis Post Dispatch.
When she retired from Grady after her second cancer diagnosis, she continued working part time at Atlanta Breast Care, her son's office. She was able to relate with patients over their shared treatment experiences and touched the lives of many (although she would occasionally be jealous if a patient had a better wig than hers). She also enjoyed "mothering" the entire office staff. In her free time, she loved shopping, skin care, designer bags, speed reading murder mysteries, NCIS reruns, and more designer bags. She also loved animals and her world truly revolved around her dogs. She had several long haired dachshunds over many decades. Her current girls, Abby and BB, will miss their mom but will continue to be spoiled as was her last request.
Mary is survived by her children. She was extremely proud of her three children and their accomplishments. However, none of these accomplishments would ever have happened if she was not their mother- and best friend. Mary was fiercely loving with her children but also expected them to give their best. They will miss their daily phone calls, shopping trips, and even troubleshooting her electronics over FaceTime five minutes after they left her house.
Her children include Dr. Albert (Dr. Colin Brady) Diehl III, of Atlanta, Georgia, Vanessa (Greg) Weiss, of Kennesaw, Georgia, and Jackie (C. John) Klein, of Smithton, Illinois. She was a loving grandmother to, Charles John (Emily FNP, DNP-C) Klein III, and Julianna (Joe) Shaefer PhD; and great-grandmother "Gigi" to Jace, Heidi, Patrick, Clara, Charles Tucker, and Tate.
A celebration of life will be planned at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her honor to Doggy Harmony Rescue or dANDIElion Wishes, a charity founded by her best friend, Sandy Goldford.
