Diana Waller, born Diana M. Dettlaff, passed into glory on February 20, 2021. Her last five years were lived in Merrill, WI at Bell Tower Residence.
She was born in Milwaukee on December 10, 1932 and as a child of the Great Depression she grew into a resilient resourceful and independent woman. She graduated from South Division High School in January 1952 and was married to Carl O. Waller on March 1 in Milwaukee. She moved with him to central WI and his rural hometown of Nelsonville but they moved to Iola in 1955 to raise a family and build a business operating Waller’s Union 76. Diana was a dedicated homemaker. She was talented, smart and enthusiastic about raising a family and supporting her husband. In high school she had committed her life to Jesus and then served faithfully at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church as a Sunday school teacher, VBS leader and Altar Guild member. She was very involved in Christian Women’s Ministry. She was a spiritual mother to her four daughters and other women she mentored over the years. She was a member of Sons of Norway Norkeland 5-580.
Her husband Carl died tragically in a car accident June 30, 1977 after 25 years of marriage. Two years later she married Neil Kachur on September 1, 1979. They were married 32 years when he died after a short illness in 2011. She lived 56 years in Iola.
She will be missed greatly by her four daughters: Debra (Dale) Thompson of Iola, Roberta (Michael) Gambsky of Iola, Carla (Jeffrey) Moore of Merrill and Pamela (Kevin) Dahle of Iola. She is survived by her daughters, sister Cheryl Mark of Florida, brother-in-law David Waller of Nelsonville and sister-in-law Kay Waller of Iola; nine grandchildren: Alf, Carl, Ivy, Katrina, Fred, Dan, Brad, Kathryn, and Lily, and 19 great-grandchildren. Diana was preceded in death by her parents, John and Dorothy (Thompson) Dettlaff and one sister Lynn Tibbets.
A private memorial service will take place at a later date. Burial will be at North New Hope Lutheran Church in Portage Co. Memorials may be given to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 395 E Iola St, Iola, WI 54945. John J. Buettgen Funeral Home is taking care of arrangements.