Diana Lee Garske was born April 29, 1952, in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of Donald and Joanne Southards and entered eternal life on Dec. 9, 2021, to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 69. She was baptized into the Christian faith on May 29, 1955, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Vernon, Colorado, and confirmed into communicant membership on May 25, 1966.
Diana attended Vernon Elementary School through eighth grade and then attended Wray High School in Wray, Colorado, and graduated in May of 1970. In the fall of 1970, she attended Concordia Lutheran College in Seward, where she met and married John with honors on July 8, 1972. Their marriage was blessed with three children, Andrew, Alissa and Adelle.
Diana and John have resided in Seward since August 1973. Diana was a secretary at Seward High School and then was a school bus driver for several years while their children attended school. She was elected as a county commissioner in 2009 and served for 10 years. She also was a longtime member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Staplehurst and served primarily and extensively as a volunteer mom at Our Redeemer Lutheran School where all three children attended through eighth grade. She also was actively involved with Bread of Life Ministries in its Christian activities, which included starting Neutral Grounds Christian Coffee House, which continues to this day on the downtown square.
Diana’s thoughts and prayers were often with her three children and their spouses for both their temporal and eternal welfare. Her statement of faith can be summed up in the following; “I commit myself to God’s care, secure in His love for me, and trusting in the salvation purchased for me through Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. I leave those who survive me the comfort of knowing that I have died in this faith and have now joined my Lord in eternal glory, and look forward to being reunited with my relatives on that eternal day which will have no end. Therefore, I encouraged them to place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. Amen!”
Diana was preceded in death by her parents, Donald and Joanne Southards; parents-in-law, Herbert and Evelyn Garske.
Diana is survived by her husband, John Garske; their children, Andrew Garske and wife Olivia, Alissa Almeida and husband Derrick, and Adelle Prado, husband Matthew, and soon-to-be born granddaughter; siblings and their spouses, Marvin and Vicky Southards, Imogene and Jim May, and Kelvin and Sara Southards; as well as numerous beloved nieces and nephews and their families and countless friends who were like family to her.
The funeral service was Dec. 14 at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at Staplehurst with interment at the church cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the church school. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.zabkafuneralhome.com.
