J. DIANE POWELL

(1935 - 2025) After spending a lovely Christmas with her family and grandchildren sharing memories and her always beautifully wrapped gifts, Diane passed peacefully in her sleep on December 28, 2025. 90 years old and feisty to the end, she loved nothing more than being surrounded by her family and was thrilled to connect with all of them in the holiday days preceding her death. Born in Edmonton on April 2, 1935, to James and Mayme Robson, and predeceased by her husband, Morley "Mo" Powell; and sister, Lorraine McKenzie, in 2018, she was Mom to Bruce (Melanie Boyd-Brown) and Jodi Clark; aunt to Shelley Robson; and beloved "Nana" to Hudson, Sawyer, Zuzu, and Meghan, Jessica and Jeremy. Moving to Vancouver as a girl, Di led a charmed life, meeting many of her lifelong friends (and future husband) while working at Jasper Park Lodge in the mid-'50s before travelling and working in England for a few years. Stopping briefly in Toronto on her return, her good friend, Marg Robertson, reconnected her with Morley and they were engaged four days later after a whirlwind romance! Marrying in 1959, they spent almost 60 loving years together. And what a wonderful life they shared - living in Toronto, St. John's, Vancouver, Oakville and Collingwood, and socializing with a diverse and extraordinary circle of lifelong friends. Between tennis (Oakville Club), golf (Toronto Golf / Blue Mountain GC), skiing (Osler Bluff), cottaging with friends and their many worldwide trips; their life was full of activity. Di was both interesting and interested, always inquisitive about other people - an engaged conversationalist with a sometimes-acerbic wit, she rarely held back sharing a pointed opinion. She was always up for experiencing new adventures and learning new things - proudly displaying the photograph of the 521 lb. tuna she captured off the coast of Newfoundland and practicing yoga headstands long before yoga was popular. Immensely creative and stylish, Di was gifted in painting, drawing and sculpting and revelled in designing the spaces she and Mo lived in (and at times wanting to do the same for Jodi and Bruce!) She was also immensely practical - much handier with tools than Mo and proud of her self-proclaimed "Scottish" thriftiness - always delighting in finding deals and her repurposing was legendary. It became a long-standing joke between her and her grandchildren about how to save the wrapping paper as gifts were opened. And in her role as Nana she shone - always interested in and celebrating the lives and adventures of her grandchildren, imparting critical direction and information (including two "glugs" when making a Caesar), but mostly listening to what they had to share. She was immensely proud of each of them and was happy to spend infinite amounts of time happily conversing with them about every topic under the sun, at any time. She spent the last seven years embracing her family and a cherished group of friends, socializing, playing bridge and visiting the cottage as frequently as she could on her "royal barge." Recently diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, her health took a turn during the past few weeks, and she became increasingly frail and weak, yet remained fiercely independent, continuing to live on her own terms right to the end. It was on Boxing Day, only after she had quietly woken, gotten dressed, did her hair and made her bed, did she call the ambulance, deciding it was now time for her to go to the hospital. Admitted into Collingwood Hospital, she died peacefully two days later. Celebration of Life details to come. In the meantime, please raise a toast (two glugs!) to her life. Donations may be made to Collingwood General and Marine Hospital or First Presbyterian Church in Collingwood. Friends may visit Diane's online Book of Memories at www.fawcettfuneralhomes.com.