Dianne Frances Williams was born on December 18, 1946 in Cumberland, Maryland to Wade Williams and Mildred Zorn.  The family moved to Elyria, Ohio, where Wade was employed in the steel industry.  Dianne was born with a heart defect and was one of the first 10 to undergo open heart surgery at Case Western Reserve Hospital in Cleveland, OH.

After graduating from Elyria High School, she attended Grace College in Warsaw, IN and received a BS in Elementary Education.  After teaching for one year, she moved to Indianapolis, IN to pursue her real passion, nursing.  In 1973, she graduated from Indiana University with a BSN in Nursing.   It was there she met David Hayden and they were married on June 28, 1975.

On Feb. 23, 1977, they brought into their lives a lovely girl, Teresa Fay.

Due to David's employment, they moved to Muncie, IN, then South Bend.  Dianne worked in several nursing positions, opened a home daycare, then a larger daycare on the South side of South Bend.  In 2008, she returned to Case Western Reserve Hospital and had a heart valve replaced, which helped Dianne a great deal and allowed her to enjoy life and meet it with an unrelenting "I can do it" attitude.  She continued her life in a positive, giving and loving attitude for those she knew.

The last several months were especially hard for Dianne because her heart was just not able to meet her needs.  Life for her was difficult, but she was always the most loving, caring and happy person to all who knew her.  She will be greatly missed by those left to cherish the memories: her husband of 47 years, David; her daughter, Teresa Fay (Deon) Dittmar; and her granddaughters, Bailey Elizabeth (Cole) Van Lue and Isabelle Dianne Dittmar.

Chapel Hill Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.