Diana Rohde

Diana Rohde

Buena Vista, MI

Diana Carol Rohde (nee Ragickas) lost her battle with lung cancer on Monday, October 14, 2024. Diana was the youngest of three children, born to Mabel and John Ragickas on November 8, 1945. She did well in school and was the first person in her family to attend college, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education. She started her career with a position to teach History and English at Frankenmuth High School. 

After teaching for a few years, she took a break to raise a family with her husband Charles Rohde. Their family ended up comprised of two girls, Julia and Cynthia, and two boys, David and Charles. During this time, she also supported her husband's farming, spending many evenings and weekends driving tractors and trucks, as well as bailing hay or straw. The Rohde household was filled with a lot of love, laughter and pets. Including not just the typical cats and dogs, but also fish, rabbits, turtles, birds, and a horse. 

Diana was never afraid to take on a new challenge. Whether that was going back to school after her youngest son was in 1st grade to get her degree in elementary education and serving as a substitute teacher in several local school districts, starting her own business, Rohde's Craft Production, after completing her teaching career, or learning how to paint with pastels in the last 6 years of her life.

Diana always loved music, a talent she inherited from both her mother and father. Although she did learn to play piano and clarinet, her true love was singing. She sang in the St. James and then Resurrection Lutheran church choirs for most of her life, the glee club in college, and also directed the St. James Children's Choir for many years. This included producing at least 6 musicals such as The Music Machine, Rainbow Express, and Psaltry's Songbook.

Diana also had a great drive to contribute to her community and family. She first volunteered for and then directed the St. James Lutheran Church Food Pantry for almost 10 years, which later became the Saginaw Metro Ministry Food Pantry. She also was the primary caregiver of her father-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, and finally her husband during the last years of their lives.

Diana is survived by her brother William Ragickas, her 4 children, 6 cats, and 2 dogs.

Funeral service will take place on Friday, October 18, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 2110 Brockway Road, Saginaw, MI. Rev. John Soyster will officiate with burial in Roselawn Memorial Gardens to follow. Diana’s family will receive visitors at Cederberg Funeral Home of Frankenmuth, 590 N. Franklin St. on Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Friday at the church from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. Those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider memorials to Resurrection Lutheran Church, Amazing Grace Animal Rescue, or AACR American Association of Cancer Research.

View a tribute video for Diana Rohde: