Diane Sonzini

1940 - 2025

Dianne Hinich Sonzini

1940 ~ 2025

Salt Lake City, Utah-Dianne Hinich was born May 8, 1940, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Bessie Savich and Joseph Hinich. She passed away November 22, 2025, in Salt Lake City. The youngest of two children, she grew up in Holladay and looked up to her older brother who nicknamed her "Bunny" when he saw her bundled in blankets as a newborn. She enjoyed a happy childhood.

Dianne graduated from Olympus High School in 1958 and later from BYU with a degree in education. She cherished her years at BYU with the Nautilus social club and close-knit roommates, many of whom remained lifelong friends. She began her career teaching at Oakwood Elementary.

Dianne married Ralph Andrew Sonzini on July 19, 1963, in the Salt Lake Temple, and together they raised three children. In 1970, they moved to East Millcreek, where she lived in the EMC 12th Ward for 55 years. Dianne is forever grateful for the exceptional friends and neighbors who surrounded her.

After a few years of teaching, her oldest child was born and Dianne decided to stay home with her children. When her youngest started kindergarten, a former principal invited her back to the classroom, leading her to begin half-day kindergarten alongside her daughter. She spent many years at Hill View Elementary, teaching mostly 2nd grade, a role she loved and where she was deeply loved in return. Her colleagues were dear friends. Later, she became the teaching librarian at Oakwood Elementary and Upland Terrace - coming full circle, as Oakwood was where she began her career and Upland Terrace was in her neighborhood. It brought her joy to have the children come to the library for storytime.

Dianne was devoted to her faith, family, and friends, and she genuinely loved serving others. Thoughtful and generous, she will be remembered for her cards with a $5 bill tucked inside, her peanut-butter cookies with a Hershey's Kiss, her dinner parties, signing up on every clipboard that was passed around, and so much more. A faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she enjoyed serving in the Salt Lake Temple baptistry. She contributed in many ways to her ward. One of her favorite callings was being a cub scout den mother in her seventies.

Dianne always cheered for her BYU Cougars and was a devoted University of Utah gymnastics fan. She never missed a Red Rocks home meet, attending with her daughter and granddaughters. She loved creating memories with her grandchildren, often through travel. Not too long ago, she explored the Channel Islands with her grandsons - and they had to keep up with her.

Dianne was a hard worker. From gathering eggs as a child to working at Warren's Holladay Pharmacy as a teen, to keeping an immaculate home and tending her flower beds, she was always busy - and often in service to others. At holiday meals, while everyone else visited and enjoyed dinner, Dianne was in the kitchen, the last to eat and the first to jump up to get something more for the table.

Dianne is survived by her three children, Michael Joseph Sonzini (Kathy), Brent Ralph Sonzini (Mary), and Andrea Sonzini Wells (Matthew); and four grandchildren, Sierra Backman (Will), Rebecca Wells, Andrew Sonzini, and Joseph Sonzini. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Sonzini, and her brother, Joseph Hinich Jr.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 29, 2025 at 11:00 am at the East Millcreek Stake Center, 3103 E. Craig Drive, Salt Lake City. A viewing will be held Friday, November 28th from 6:00-8:00 pm and Saturday, November 29th from 10:00-10:45 am at the same address. Interment will be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park.