Diane Blankenship, 75
It is with much sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved Diane who entered the kingdom of Heaven on April 22, 2023.
Diane Hanig Blankenship, 75, was born in Minnesota in 1948 to Arlene and Ken Hanig. She was the first of six daughters born into their family.
When she was in grade school the family moved to Kalispell, where her father was the manager of the Gambles franchise there. They later moved to Deer Lodge where her parents became the owners of the Skogmos store and she attended St. Mary’s Grade School. She graduated from Powell County High School in 1966 and later attended Montana Tech in Butte.
Following college, she moved to Helena where she worked for the State of Montana and met the love of her life, Keith Blankenship. Together they made Helena their lifelong home and were married for 52 years. They had two sons, Paul (of Kalispell) and David (of Helena) who blessed them with 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Diane was a gentle soul with many passions and much love to share. Among her passions was quilting. She was an avid and magnificent quilter, even operating a quilting shop for many years to help other people design, plan and finish their quilts. There is no telling how many quilts she made in her lifetime; we speculate the number to be in the hundreds.
She was actively involved for many years with Toys for Tots and loved walking around the fairground ponds and watching the geese, ducks and swans. She enjoyed geo-caching and summer vacations at Swan Lake.
She also had a great love of music, learning to play piano as a child, singing in the chorus and choir in high school, listening to her playlists daily and, more recently having ukulele jam sessions with her sisters. Although, often it seemed there was more laughter than music coming out of those sessions. The “sisterhood” won’t be the same without her.
Most everyone that met Diane found her to be delightful, compassionate and fun. She was proud of her sons and loved her grandchildren passionately. She always welcomed newcomers to her family and made them feel at ease. She especially loved family gatherings and often times she demonstrated her “sassy” sense of humor by throwing out a “zinger” here and there.
Being raised in the Catholic faith, Diane and Keith were long-time members of the St. Helena Cathedral Parish where their sons also received their first sacraments. God has now called her home and she will be missed by all who knew her.
She is survived by her husband, Keith; sons, Paul and David (Autumn); sisters, Doreen Ellis, Patty King (Tom McNeal), Paula Hanig (Joe Schendel), Susan Wolcott (Jack Wolcott); sister-in-law, Diane Marble; grandchildren, Kati, Desiree, Alyssa, Krista, Patrick, Airk, Elora, Robert, Cadence, Corbyn and Kieran; nine great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Arlene and Ken; sister, Donna Stevens Doney; and brothers-in-law, Chuck Stevens, Craig King and Leo Marble.
Funeral services will be held at noon on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at St. Helena Cathedral with a reception to follow downstairs in the church social center. Interment will be at a later date at the Fort Harrison VA Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to any veteran’s support organization, or to the charity of the donor’s choice. Special thanks are extended to all the nurses, CNA’s and staff of Compassus Hospice. They are all living angels. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Diane.