Dianne Marie De France

She was predeceased by her parents Albert (2003) and Stella (2020) and by her sister Carmen (1970). She is survived and dearly missed by her brothers Stephen, Carl (Rowena), Rudy (Noeme) and Andrew (Lynn) as well as her sisters Elizabeth (Norman) and Kathleen (David). She will be missed by her nieces Amanda and Kyra and her nephews Kyle, Ryan, Alex, James and Jason as well as many grand-nephews and grand-nieces. Dianne was a favourite aunt to many of them.

Dianne was born in Guyana, but immigrated with her family to Toronto in Canada as a small child. After high school at Eastern Commerce, Dianne graduated, with Honours, in 1986 from the Early Childhood Education program at George Brown College. She was immediately hired by the City of Toronto’s daycare program and worked there for over 34 years, until she took early retirement because of her failing health.

Dianne was a dedicated teacher to all of her students. She loved them, guided them, taught them and genuinely cared for them. They were “her kids”, and she had hundreds of them over her career!

Dianne was a person you could always count upon. She was kind, loving, generous and a gentle soul, but could also be a fierce defender for people in need. She was a loving and proud dog parent to Casey, Andy and Rosie.

Dianne was a lifelong member of the St Joseph Parish on Leslie Street in Toronto, near our childhood home. She shared an exceptionally close bond with our mom. They saw each other almost every day. When Mom passed away in 2020, Dianne said “I lost my mom and my best friend”.

Dianne had a number of complex and serious health issues in the later part of her life, which resulted in her hospitalization in the ICU at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto this past December. Despite our hopes and plans for her future and the best efforts of the medical team at St Mike’s, she was unable to recover her health and died on January 24th, 2025 at the age of 60.

Family and friends may gather on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Giffen-Mack & Trull Funeral Home, 2570 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4C1L3 (north east corner at Main Street). Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 10:00 AM, at St. Joseph's Parish, 162 Leslie Street, Toronto, ON M4M 3C7. Dianne will be laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery.