Diane Wilroy's Obituary
Diane M. Wilroy, 83, of St. Petersburg, received the final gift of a peaceful passing on June 17, 2021. She was born August 10, 1937, in Washington, DC to John William Miller and Cecilia Lloyd Miller. Most of you reading this do not know our mom, so we want to brag about her a little bit. Diane worked as a microbiologist for over 40 years. She loved the outdoors and was always up for adventure. In fact, her email was “outdoorgirl.” She had a true zest for life! She introduced her adult children to orienteering and loved kayaking, boating and anything else that kept her outside. She taught her kids how to refinish furniture the old-fashioned way. In her younger years, she was an avid tennis player and a Yogi long before it was cool. She was very active in her 70’s, swimming a mile a day, taking classes at St. Pete College, climbing Machu Picchu in Peru with her much younger boyfriend, zip lining in the Costa Rican rainforest and tubing, not lazily down a river, but by being pulled behind her son-in-law’s boat giving the thumbs up to go faster. She worked hard her entire life and loved to travel. When she wanted to take a vacation that she could not afford, she would get a second job. She had such a good work ethic, that once she returned from her vacation, she often kept the second job. When she was worried the hospital where she was working might close, she got a night job at St. Anthony’s Hospital and continued working there even when it was determined her day job was secure. What impressed her kids the most is, despite having a close relationship with her kids and grandkids, she also had a life of her own. She loved the theater, museums, going to movies and dancing. She loved ice cream and it did not matter what flavor, hand spun, homemade or Amish ice cream. She loved them all and never had a brain freeze! She volunteered at American Stage and was a weekly church goer. She loved baseball and watching the Rays play. She sewed a lot of her kids clothing when they were young. She knitted, crocheted, and cross-stitched and was frequently called Tailor Smurf and the Stainmaster by her kids. Diane lived her life and was blissfully unaware of any limitations. She took up tap dancing when she was 44 years old. Although there were mostly 6 and 7 year-olds in her class, mom still enjoyed herself. Diane laughed at the most inappropriate times but that was another reason we loved her. Diane will be deeply missed by all who knew her. Until we meet again. Diane is survived by her children Lynn (Sunny) Nelson, Gregg Wilroy, Susan Rountree, Christina (Matthew) Wells, six grandsons, seven grandcats and two granddogs. She is predeceased by her brother, Billy Miller and her sister, Janet Miller. It brings her family joy that Diane is now resting in heaven with her mom, dad, brother and sister. The family would especially like to thank all the caregivers that lovingly took care of our mom right up until the end. Donations can be made to Pet Pal Animal Shelter, 405-22nd Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33712. The ceremony will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5750 49th Street North, St. Petersburg, Saturday, June 26th. Visitation is at 4:00 p.m. The funeral service is at 5:00 p.m., with a reception afterwards, where we will continue to brag about our sweet “Mommy Talami.”
This service will be live streaming starting at 5PM on Saturday, June 26, 2021. You may watch the service by clicking on the link below.
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