In Loving Memory

Diane Eileen Friedman

Diane Eileen Friedman passed away peacefully on April 1st, 2022, attended to with loving care by Comforting Hands Adult Family Home, and Horizon Hospice.

Diane (Didi, as she was known to family and friends) was born on December 4, 1946 in Los Angeles California, to George and Janice Reed Friedman. She was the eldest of five siblings in the family.

In 1956 the family moved to Colville, WA where George Friedman had previously been stationed at the 760th Rader Base near Colville.

Diane attended Colville schools, making many lifelong friendships along the way. She graduated from Colville High School in 1965. She excelled in the high school drama productions, was active in Pep Club, and proudly supported the success of the football and basketball teams by attending state tournaments.

Diane continued her education at St. Josephs School of Nursing in Tacoma, WA. Several of her good friends were also her classmates. She received her Nurse's Cap in 1968, and started her lifelong career as a RN.

Diane's first job as a nurse was at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle WA. She worked in the emergency department, as well as labor and delivery. The majority of her nursing career was spent at Group Health Central Hospital, located on Capitol Hill in Seattle. She loved her time as a pediatric nurse. She was also very active with SEIU 1199.

Diane lived on Capitol Hill in Seattle, and loved her life there. She often joked that she was the only one who came to work when it snowed because she could walk to the hospital.

Diane also traveled extensively. She took a sabbatical from work in the 1970's, and toured Europe, and spent 3 months on a Kibbutz in Israel. There she was able to reconnect with Friedman cousins that had immigrated there from Latvia. She also spent time in Mexico, and experienced her first scuba dive in Cozumel.

In 1995 Diane returned to Colville to care for her parents, George and Janice. Diane coordinated all of their medical needs, and worked together with Malcom, Reed, Joyce and Georgeann to give them the loving care they deserved, until their passing in 1996. Diane was lovingly referred to by her family as "Nurse Ratched."

Diane remained in Colville, purchasing the family home, and taking care of her parent's dogs and cats. Diane reconnected with old friends, and made great new ones. She was well known for her over the top Halloween parties.

She returned to her nursing career at Pinewood Terrace Nursing Center in Colville. She was also a traveling school nurse for several years.

Diane was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic Church in Colville on April 16, 2006.

Diane was a friend of Bill W, and her journey brought her together with many wonderful people that enriched her life.

Diane became a resident of Pinewood Terrace Nursing Center in June 2017, after a fall, and the residual complications from guillain-barre' syndrome. She was an active, social and lively personality there.

Diane moved to Comforting Hands Adult Family Home in December 2021. The family is eternally grateful to Victor, Ann and Oscar for the loving care, compassion and respect that Diane received while in their wonderful home.

Diane is survived by her siblings, Malcolm and wife Jill, and their children David Friedman and Danielle Cartledge (Aaron) and their children, Ashley, Brenna, Jayden and Hailey.

Joyce Woodard and husband Greg, her children Derek Sowards (Brittnay, and her daughter Peyton), Peter Sowards (Sarah) and his children Kaitlyn and Jaaron, and Georgeann Peck, and her son Max. Diane is also survived by her dear friend, and sister of her heart, Dana Holstine.

She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Janice Friedman in 1996, her sweet brother Reed Brian Friedman in 2011, and her beloved dog, Maury.

Services will be held at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Colville, WA on April 23, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. with Fr. Kenneth St. Hilaire, presiding. Interment will follow at Mountain View Cemetery in Colville. Danekas Funeral Chapel is entrusted in care.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to an animal rescue organization of your choice.  That's what Didi would have wanted.