Obituary of Eleanor Julia Diez

Eleanor Julia (née Strahan) Diez, 94, died Wednesday September 14, 2016, at the Odd Fellow & Rebekah Health Center in Lockport, New York. Eleanor is survived by her sons Neiland Diez of Charleston, SC, and Raymond (Suzanne) Dietz of Youngstown, NY; grandchildren, Olivia Belter, Jessica Dietz (fiancé Martin Doherty), and Aaron (Denise) Dietz; great-grandchildren, Zachary, Tyler, and Evan Belter, and Carson, Brady, and Hollyn Dietz; a sister-in-law Marge (Raymond) Strahan of Friendship, NY. Eleanor was predeceased by her husband Kenneth G. Diez of 69 years; her parents Raymond J. and Julia Fuller Strahan; her brother Raymond J. "Jim" Strahan, Jr.; and niece Kathy Strahan Ritter. Eleanor was born in Wellsville, New York, on September 5, 1922, and raised in Friendship where she graduated from the High School in 1941. She graduated from Alfred State College in 1944 with a degree in Floriculture. Ken and Eleanor farmed in the Town of Porter raising a variety of fruit and livestock for sixty years. The daughter of a dairy farmer in the Southern Tier, she found her way to work at McDonald's Florist in Niagara Falls after graduation and continued making floral arrangements at home for many of the town's people for their weddings and other occasions. Eleanor sang in the Presbyterian Church choir for many decades. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. The family will be present at the HARDISON FUNERAL HOME, 3648 Ransomville Rd., Ransomville on Tuesday September 20, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, September 21 at 10:30 a.m. in the First Presbyterian Church, 100 Church St., Youngstown, with the Rev. Dr. Rex T. Stewart officiating. (Please assemble at Church.) Burial will follow in Oakland Rural Cemetery, Lake Rd., Youngstown. Memorials in Eleanor's memory may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown.