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Diane Thomsen
DIANE MARIE (CIHA) THOMSEN
Cedar Rapids
Diane Marie (Ciha) Thomsen, 64, of Cedar Rapids, passed away June 8, 2019, following a very short, but courageous fight with cancer. Funeral Mass: 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 14, at St. Matthew Catholic Church. Visitation: 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 13, at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids.
Diane is survived by her husband, Mike; children, Carly Michael (Alan) McMannus, Mackenzie Marie (Marcus Shane) Hootman and Jake Edward (Kelly) Thomsen; and far and away her greatest thrill, her grandchildren, Samuel and Margaret McMannus, Macale, Bryer and Emersyn Hootman and Colt and Madison Thomsen.
She also is survived by sister, Karen Ciha; brothers, Dave (Laura), Dan (Colette) and Bill (Wendy) Ciha; brother-in-law, Mark (Gail) Thomsen, sister-in-law, Becky (Mike) Shaffer; and many nieces and nephews.
Diane was born in Iowa City on July 29, 1954, the daughter of David and Marian Ciha. She attended Iowa City West and started working at the University of Iowa as a dental hygienist. Showing questionable judgment, she married Mike Thomsen on Oct. 21, 1978. Diane worked for Schimberg Co., until she and Mike moved to Albuquerque, N.M. She loved it there. It also is where she started her favorite job, raising their three children, all born in New Mexico, before moving back to Cedar Rapids.
She worked at Cedar Rapids Janitorial before retiring to help Mike in his business and devote her time to the kids. Her great friend Jane Travis, and her sorority sisters of Beta Sigma Phi, of which she was a member for more than 35 years, were special in her life. Some of the organizations dear to her heart were Juvenile Diabetes, Hope Lodge, Ronald McDonald House and the PTA.
Her last gesture was to donate what she could to the Iowa Donors Network to assist in juvenile diabetes research. She was a special person and will be missed by the people whose lives she touched. Diane will always and forever be loved by her husband, kids and grandkids.
Memorials may be directed to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Eastern Iowa or Ronald McDonald House of East Central Iowa.
Please share your support and memories with Diane's family on her tribute wall at www.stewartbaxter.com under obituaries.
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