Linda Dianne “Dianne” Brown, age 70, passed away at 12:03 pm on March 23, 2021, at home with her husband and daughters at her side, after a brief bout with cancer. She was born October 23, 1950, to Arthur and Tru Dell (Burleson) Mullen in San Antonio, Texas. Her father’s Air Force career meant that she moved from place to place through her growing-up years, including all her grade school and high school years. Some of her homes included stops in Virginia, South Dakota, the Island of Japan, Louisiana and Texas. She was a 1968 graduate of Springfield Shawnee High School, a 1972 graduate of Ohio University and received her Master’s Degree in Education in 1983 from Wright State University. She taught one year at Mansfield Madison South Junior High School, and sixteen years at Arcanum-Butler, where she was a fifth-grade teacher and was involved in many school activities there.
She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband Richard “Dick” Brown, whom she married April 13, 1975, two daughters Brandy and her husband Dr. Joshua Hill of Delaware, Ohio, and Betsy and her husband Kraig Reiber of Centerville, Ohio, and granddaughters Hazel Hill, Louisa Hill, and Brynn Reiber, brother Jim Mullen, sister-in-law Delores (Hoskins) Mullen, sister Vicky (Mullen) True, brother-in-law Bill True, nephews Scott Mullen, Chad Mullen and Brian True, and grand-nieces Maggie Mullen and Madison Mullen, all of Covington, Ohio.
Dianne enjoyed spending summers in her youth at her grandparents’ homes in West Virginia and Louisiana. She was dedicated to her family and to local education. She was always volunteering to help with her daughters’ school and extra-curricular activities; never missing her children’s high school and college sporting events and activities. She was a contributor to the after-school mentoring program, and was a Board member of the Greenville Schools Foundation for fifteen years, and other professional and community committees. She volunteered in the High School office and other Greenville High School programs. She was a member of the Greenville First Presbyterian Church and served as a Deacon and on various committees. She was Treasurer of the Delta Theta Tau social sorority for many years and brightened up the community selling May flowers for years. She had helped working periodically at her husband’s business McVay’s Sporting Goods over many years. One of her passions was her elaborate Christmas decorating and it was seen by many over the past 28 years. She enjoyed making chocolate/peanut butter “buckeyes” which became a regular Christmas surprise for many. She adored her grandchildren and made every holiday a special occasion for the family. Dianne enjoyed cruising to different parts of the world with Dick and trips every year to Gatlinburg, Frankenmuth, Michigan, and Las Vegas, where she liked to shop, see shows, and play the slots. She was an avid reader and was quite interested in many different sports on TV—Ohio sports teams, watching tennis with Betsy and the Hallmark Channel with Brandy. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her.
The family will be receiving friends and family on Monday, March 29, at Zechar Bailey Funeral Home, Greenville, Ohio, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and on Tuesday one hour prior to the service in the church. Services will be Tuesday, March 30, at the First Presbyterian Church, 114 East Fourth Street Greenville at 10:30 am with Pastor Andy Gilman officiating. Burial will follow in the Greenville Union Cemetery on Union City Road.
It is the wishes of the family that any Memorial Contributions for Dianne be given to the Garst Museum or the Greenville Schools Foundation.
The funeral service will be Lived Streamed at: www.greenvillepres.org.
Condolences for the family may be sent to www.zecharbailey.com.