Obituary: Diane “Di” Sasa

She grew up in Wisconsin, graduating from Regis High School in Eau Claire, where she was homecoming queen. She worked her way through college waitressing at Crossroads Cafe and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire as a social worker. She went to work at the Milwaukee County Department of Social Services in the late 1960s, where she met friends like Pat and Dan, who stayed with her through life. “Diane threw my cigarettes out the window on a road trip and said she was saving my life. If it was anyone but Diane!” Pat said. “I lost my best friend.” 

Diane took full advantage of globetrotting with friends on her vacations, and had stories such as an old man chasing her with a cane in Pakistan for taking his picture. She also liked to tell about when she bought her first car, a blue VW bug, that she drove home, all the way across town, with the emergency brake on. The dealer kindly replaced the car. 

She left Wisconsin to move to Hawaii, where she gave birth to her first son, William, in 1973. She worked as a probation officer in Hawaii, and a few years later met Lipano Sasa at a church friend’s gathering. They flirted. He pushed her in the pool fully clothed, jumped in after her, and the rest is history. They married in 1976 and she spent happy years watching her husband climb coconut trees and spear fish. Her second son, Stephen, was born in Hawaii in 1979, and later the family moved to California, where their daughter, Mary, was born in 1981. 

They later moved to The Dalles, Ore., in 1985, where they owned an in-home foster care business for elderly and developmentally disabled until retiring a few years ago. Caring for patients who weren’t mentally capable and often ornery (public screamers) put Diane in another realm of sainthood and nothing seemed to ever embarrass her. Much to the chagrin of her children, she would tell strangers in the checkout line her life story along with her kids’ life stories, and then ask for their life story in exchange. Connecting with anyone and being inquisitive about their life was one of her most endearing traits. Saying she was a Type A extrovert somehow seems an understatement. 

And no words are adequate to fully capture such vibrance, but people have described Diane as a force and full of life, an amazing personality, wild and funny, friendly and sweet, enthusiastic and kind, considerate and generous, giving and exceptional, hospitable and welcoming, someone who made everyone feel special, and full of Jesus’ love always. Her boisterous laugh made people laugh with her, and her husband said, “You could always hear Diane before you ever saw her.” She loved healthy food, traveling, good sales, giving and getting gifts, staying connected with family and friends, toast/desserts, blue, watching sermons on 3ABN, and swimming in the sea, not in that particular order. 

She gave of herself daily, and even when she was tired or poor, she gave with joy. After observing Diane give selflessly to someone in trouble, a court judge noted, “I have never seen such charity.” 

A diligent worker, she made sure her kids attended private Christian schools and took pride in knowing they became successful members of society who were attentive to her as she aged. 

In The Dalles, Diane also busied herself with teaching her kids’ Sabbath school class and with other church activities, as she was a member of numerous Seventh-Day Adventist churches in the Columbia River Gorge during her 37 years there. The source of her joy and ability to live sacrificially was Jesus, and her greatest desire was that her family and friends know Jesus. In her last year of life, her focus was the hope that she would meet her loved ones again on resurrection morning, and her favorite Bible story was about Lazarus. 

She is survived by her devoted husband Lipano Sasa; son William Perry and wife Davina; son Stephen Sasa and wife Kerry; daughter Mary Hilde and husband Shane; grandchildren Koby, Zoe, Jehu, Josiah, Jude, Adeline and Clementine; brothers Steve Blomquist, Jon Hehli and Jim Hehli; aunt Anita and husband John; along with many much-loved cousins, nephews and nieces, and a host of people who called her friend. Knowing and loving these people was one of her greatest pleasures. 

Memorial service for Diane will be held Oct. 16, 11 a.m. at The Dalles Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 501 Veterans Drive, The Dalles. Everyone is invited and welcome. Memorial contributions can be made to gofund.me/9e7635c5.