Diane Norris Obituary

Diane Lynn Norris

Surrounded by her loving family, Diane Lynn (née Dobney) Norris, 73, of Vermilion, died Friday, November 7, 2025, at Ames Hospice House in Westlake, after a long battle with cancer.

Diane always placed her family at the center of her life. She especially enjoyed preparing festive holiday meals and spending time with family. She was born May 29, 1952, in Elyria to the late James Leslie and Marion Dorris (née Goodman) Dobney of Grafton. On August 4, 1973, she married Neal Norris, who survives in Vermilion along with their beloved daughter, Kerri Norris of Alexandria, Virginia. She is also survived by her sister, Debra Dobney of Avon Lake; brother, Donald Dobney of Parma Heights; sister-in-law, Anne Norris of Elyria; and niece, Rochelle Hudson of Asheville, North Carolina.

She was preceded in death by her father and mother, James and Marion Dobney of Grafton, and father-in-law and mother-in-law, Roy and Alice Norris of Elyria.

Diane graduated from Midview High School in 1970. She took private voice lessons at Oberlin College and earned a bachelor's degree in music with concentrations in voice and piano from Bowling Green State University in 1974, as well as graduate work from several colleges and universities. She was a K-12 music specialist, teaching in the Toledo, Findlay, North Ridgeville, Midview, Elyria, and Liberty-Benton Schools in Ohio; the Northampton Schools in Massachusetts; and the Wyomissing and Muhlenberg Schools in Pennsylvania.

At Muhlenberg, she conducted fourth and fifth-grade elementary choruses of more than 225 students, and she created and conducted the fifth-grade Eagle Singers at Liberty-Benton. She was extensively involved in writing elementary music curricula, and served on the state-wide Pennsylvania panel representing Inclusion of Special Needs Children in Regular Education Music Classes. Diane was a member of the Muhlenberg Schools Elementary Education Task Force that planned and designed a new 1,200-student Elementary Center. Her educational work was recognized by her peers when she was the first recipient of the Liberty-Benton Golden Eagle Teaching Award in 2006.

Diane served in a variety of church leadership positions, including Sunday School Teacher, Laudate Children's Choral Director, adult choir, church council, and

chaired or served on several organist and choirmaster search committees at Atonement Lutheran Church in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Diane's Memorial Celebration Service of Word and Music will be Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 3747 Liberty Avenue, Vermilion, Ohio 44089. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by the service and gathering meal for those who remain afterward.

Memorials may be made to Doctors Without Borders, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeastern Ohio, Trinity Lutheran Church, or a charity of personal choice.

Online condolences may be sent to www.riddlefuneralhome.com at Riddle Funeral Home in Vermilion. A private interment will be for immediate family at Elmwood Cemetery in Lorain at a later time.