Diana Ellen Landsman

Diana Ellen Landsman

Iowa City

Diana Ellen Landsman was born on June 24, 1955 in Buffalo, New York, to Ellen Hood. Raised in Buffalo, New York, Diana spent her childhood enjoying time with her siblings and friends. She attended high school in Buffalo, college at Buffalo State University, and the Beijing Normal School of Languages to study Mandarin. Diana’s children, Katy, Shannon, and Keegan, were born in New York in 1979, 1981, and 1990 respectively.

Armed with an immense desire to travel the world, Diana took on the role as the Director of Finance for several international nonprofit organizations aiming to provide services for communities in conflict-ridden countries including Bosnia, Croatia, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Countless times, Diana remained steadfast in her dedication to work and the populations she served even when confronted with dangerous situations. After her years abroad, she spent her time creating unique paintings, weaving at her loom, studying her family lineage, remaining informed of daily world news, and adding character to the cherished dollhouses gifted to her by her mother.

In January of 2023, Diana was diagnosed with cancer and endured treatment for over two years. She spent the final years of her life living in Iowa City, Iowa. Diana passed peacefully in her sleep on the morning of September 10, 2025 after spending the weeks prior being visited by family and close friends as well as experiencing the joy of meeting her first great-grandchild.

Diana was an accomplished humanitarian aid worker, avid scholar of family ancestry, fierce needlepoint enthusiast, and mother to three (surprisingly well-adjusted) children. Her children will remember her for her tenacity, quick wit, occasionally crass sense of humor, and bright intellect.

Diana Ellen Landsman is preceded in death by Ellen Guenther (Mother), Donald Guenther (Stepfather), Chris Hood (Brother), and Nora Hood (Sister). She is survived by her children Katy Barnett (Ian), Shannon McBride, and Keegan O’Malley (Ally), her grandchildren Jakub Foster (Magge) and Bella McBride, her great-granddaughter Millie, brother Robert Hood, and her sisters Eileen Monington and Linda Cummings. Along with countless extended family and friends throughout the world.

A celebration of life in Diana’s honor will be held in Upstate New York in autumn of 2026. More information to be provided by the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.