Diana Penna Casey

Diana Penna Casey passed on 5/7/13 after a valiant fight against breast cancer. Diana grew up in the once small Laguna Beach, CA. At an early age she developed a love of many art forms, studying jewelry & singing in the choir in high school. Diana attended Monterey Community College at the same time she began her jewelry career. Her art, as well as her amazing cooking, became expressions of Diana's love of family, friends & community. Through a traveling theater program she met her husband, Jack, in Laytonville, CA in 1966, and then moved to Eureka. Diana was a "doer", not a talker. Diana never wanted center stage in any context, but loved to participate in family & community functions, often taking the role of Chef, photographer, or any job that needed doing. The heart of her home was the kitchen, she loved to feed people. Her hugs were famous, as was the annual New Year's open house "Bagna Cauda" feast. She was fiercely independent, never wanted sympathy, but always was sympathetic and first in line to give of herself. Diana never knew how much she meant to people, but she was more than family, more than a wife, more than a sister, more than a mother to countless. She will be missed. She is survived by her husband, Jack Casey; her son, Rion Casey (wife, Janet) & their daughter, Alexandra; Diana's daughter, Kirin Casey Hickcox, (husband, David), & their children, Thailan, Hayden, Max, & Harper; Diana's brother Victor (wife, Joy) Penna; Diana's sister, Elizabeth Wetzel. She was preceded in death by her brother Joseph "Sonny" Penna (wife, Helen). Diana's memorial celebration of her life will be on Sunday May 26, 2013 at 3:00 P.M. at Liz Murguia's house. For more info, please contact Kirin Hickcox @ 678-850-1215. *Note: In lieu of flowers please send funds as donation to your local Hospice. Special thanks to Dr. Jeffrey Allen, oncologist, for his tender professional care. Please sign the guestbook at www.times-standard.com, click on obits.