L. Watkins

L. Diane Watkins, 77, of Bellefontaine, Ohio, passed away Sunday, September 4, 2011 at 2:17 P.M. at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, Ohio following a brief battle with cancer. She was born April 22, 1934, the daughter of the late Elmer Leroy and Donna Katherine (Insley) McBride Young.

On October 21, 1956, she married John C. Watkins in Mt. Victory, Ohio, and he preceded her in death after forty three years of marriage on January 4, 2002. She was also preceded in death by a brother, Richard H. McBride.

She is survived by her daughter Jodi A. Dietz of South Lyon, Michigan and her son, Jeffrey L. Watkins of Bellefontaine; two brothers, John Michael McBride of Plain City, Ohio and Leonard Young of Huntsville, Ohio; three grandchildren, Dawn Littell of Sidney, New York, Misty Ziegler of Buffalo, New York and Brittany Yaw of Hastings, Michigan; five great grandchildren, James C. Martin, Alyssa, Tabitha, Samantha Ziegler, and Celeste Yaw, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She graduated from Rushsylvania High School in 1952 and then from Miami Valley Nursing School in 1956. She worked as a RN at Mary Rutan Hospital, then as a social worker for the Logan County Welfare Department and then as an industrial nurse at DAB Industries from which she retired in 1989.

The funeral service will be held at 1:00 P.M. Thursday, September 8, 2011, at the Eichholtz Funeral Home in Bellefontaine with Pastor C. J. Plogger officiating. Calling hours will be held from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. at the funeral home prior to the service. Interment will follow the funeral service in the Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society P.O. Box 22718 Oklahoma City, OK 73123 or www.cancer.org