Diana Dawn ThunderEagle

THUNDEREAGLE, Diana Dawn
Portage Diana Dawn ThunderEagle passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday, September 19, 2012. She was born April 19, 1959 in Kennewick, WA, the daughter of Martin and Mona Weathermon Griffith and had lived in the Portage area for ten years. She had been employed by Covenant House of Anchorage, Alaska as a Counselor for several years. "She could always make you laugh" is the most often quote friends and family members have shared over the last several days when remembering Diana and reminiscing about their departed love one. During the past six months Diana fought courageously with her battle with a malignant brain tumor, coupled with severe diabetes, failing eyesight and a broken vertebra. True to Diana's spirit, she remained cheerful right up to the end, living in the moment and appreciating all the small daily things being happy about a delicious meal, a visit from her children, delighting in seeing the humming birds feeding on the flowers of her favorite tree, The Rose of Sharon and buying cat toys so they would have fun frolicking about. Diana was a great cook that the entire family always raved about and she even cooked a fabulous steak dinner with all the trimmings for her husband the night before she passed away. Yes, she was amazing. Diana met her husband David in Spokane, Washington where she was raised and they married in 1978. They moved to Anchorage, Alaska in 1981 and stayed until 1988 but returned after living on a farm in Naples, Idaho raising all kinds of farm animals for three years and then again in 1992 lived in Alaska until 2002 before settling in Michigan. Living a total of 17 years in Anchorage and raising their three children there, the ThunderEagle family considered Alaska as their home. Diana had an interesting career in Alaska being an Animal Control Officer, then a Youth Crisis Counselor for homeless children at Covenant House and finally as an EMT in the North Slope oil fields. She always enjoyed the most challenging jobs that at the basic level that was always focused on helping others. Diana was a senior at the University of Alaska - Anchorage where she was a few semesters away from achieving a degree in Criminal Justice, just before moving to Michigan. Diana was proud to be ¼ Chickasaw Indian and a member of that tribe; she was an accomplished bead worker making many beautiful pieces of art that are cherished by her family. Diana also was well read, having read thousands of books along with her bright intelligence, she was well versed on all subjects and could provide wise counsel on any issue or problem, which her children truly appreciated. Besides reading and creating American Indian arts and crafts, Diana also enjoyed movies and delighted in finding the most unusual, obscure and sometimes comical horror films, exchanging best film finds with her friend, Roger, in Alaska. Diana was a devoted hockey fan and she went even further for her love of the sport by playing goalie in the Anchorage Women's Hockey league. Diana will be remembered as a woman with a keen mind, quick wit and her wonderful hearty laugh. She was a loving wife, sister, aunt and mother, who was especially proud of her remarkable three children. Next summer, Diana's husband and children plan to fly to Anchorage, Alaska where they will backpack up into the Chugach Mountains and then scatter Diana's remains along the Williwa Lakes Wilderness hiking trail. Diana loved backpacking, hiking into mountain passes, and camping in the wilderness. She had traveled into wilderness areas in mountain ranges in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and especially in Alaska were Williwa Lakes was her very favorite remote trail. Diana is survived by her husband David, children Nathan, Brian, his girlfriend Megan, and Cheniah, and her boyfriend Matt; her mother-in-law, Gloria, her siblings are Dana, Tyressa, Laura, and Kevin and his wife Christina; also in-laws of Kevin , his wife Sally, Kim, her husband Geri, Randy, his wife Stacey, and Jill. Her many nieces and nephews include Brad, his wife Erika, Kelly, his wife Mariska, Jennifer, her husband Jason, Marc, Shane, Rachae, Shawna, Janelle, Jessica, Luke, Phillip, Bryce, Shawn, Rachelle, and Benny. Diana would want it to be remembered that she was preceded in death by her father-in-law Norman O. Probst a man that she had a special love and fondness for who became her special father figure in her life. A Gathering of Friends will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2012 from 3-5 PM at the Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Portage Chapel, 411 E. Centre Ave. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Covenant House, P.O. Box 100620, Anchorage, AK 99510-0620.