Mrs Diana Lynn Purser Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

DIANA LYNN PURSER Diana Lynn Purser, beloved mother, grandmother and retired Bartlesville educator, rode the Happy Day Express to Heaven on Sunday, May 22, 2016 after a courageous six-year battle with breast cancer. Born in Great Bend, Kansas in 1949 to W.L. and Lucille (Coburn) Dickson, Diana spent the first three years in Guymon, Oklahoma in the panhandle before moving to Woodward, Oklahoma where her father owned and operated the local photography studio. After graduating with the Class of 1968, Diana attended the University of Oklahoma where she pledged Kappa Delta Sorority, and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degree. There she met the love of her life, Roger Kenneth Purser, whom she wed in 1972. The two commenced their high school teaching careers in the Oklahoma City area where Diana taught English, Writing and Creative Writing, and Roger taught Chemistry. A few years later, the couple was blessed with the birth of their loving daughter, April. The couple and new baby embarked on the adventure of their lives in 1981 by moving to Germany to teach for the Dept. of Defense School System. There they placed membership in Faith Baptist Church, which had a fantastic Children’s Church program, with whom Diana gladly volunteered to help with the puppets and skits. After eight years of European adventures, the Pursers relocated back to Oklahoma to teach at Diana’s alma mater in Woodward. It was here that Diana started a writing event called WritingWood, and also directed a community theater production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Here they also joined the First Baptist Church, where she used her experience with Children’s Church in Germany to start a similar program. She worked with that program for eight years until 1997, when the family was ready for another adventure. They accepted positions at Bartlesville High School, and Diana introduced her WritingWood Competition to her new school system. She was active in Delta Kappa Gamma Sorority of Professional Educators, serving in all capacities and elected positions. She also was a member of WordWeavers, a local writing group, publishing books and essays and winning numerous writing awards at the Bartlesville Friends of the Library Creative Writing Contests, as well as the statewide Oklahoma Writer’s Federation. And retirement couldn’t keep her from accepting the new challenge of teaching college level English when Oklahoma Wesleyan University asked Diana to be an Adjunct Professor in 2013. Diana loved being an active part of the Bartlesville Southern Baptist Church with her family, where again she was instrumental in starting and maintaining a Children’s Church program. And always the adventurer, she spent four summers on mission trips to the Ukraine to teach the English language and the Bible to underprivileged children. Truly, Diana’s enthusiasm, energy and strength was an inspiration to all those who knew and loved her. Besides her loving husband and daughter, Diana is survived by April’s husband Danny Young and their two children, Logan and Anna, Bartlesville, Oklahoma; and one sister, Andrea Gunning, Albuquerque, New Mexico. A memorial service to celebrate Diana’s life will be held at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at Bartlesville Southern Baptist Church, 5111 Nowata Road, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Diana’s name to the American Cancer Society.

Mrs Diana Lynn Purser

December 14, 1949 - May 22, 2016