Diana R. Ormsby

1942 - 2025

Diana R. (Gray) Ormsby

October 6, 1942 - October 8, 2025

Lenexa, Kansas - Diana R. (Gray) Ormsby passed away on October 8, 2025 at Lakeview Village, Lenexa, Kansas. Services will be announced at a future date at www.brucefuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory to Village Presbyterian Church, Lakeview Village Foundation, or KU Endowment would be welcomed. Condolences may be left at www.brucefuneralhome.com.

Diana came into the world as the first child of H. Gordon Gray and Ruth E. (Christianson) Gray on October 6, 1942, in Brady, Texas, where her father was serving as an Officer Instructor for Officer Candidate School in the Army Air Corp. The family was stationed at several bases in Texas during WWII, then moved to Kansas when the war ended. Diana spent most of her school years in the Shawnee Mission School District, graduating from SM North in 1960. She was involved in A Capella Choir, was concert mistress of the orchestra, and a member of the National Honor Society in high school. Diana met and married her husband, Mason, while attending KU. Mason soon began a career with Eli Lilly & Co. and with their two daughters, Kim and Heather, started their adventures as "corporate gypsies", moving every two years or so. Returning home to Kansas, the family settled in Overland Park, and Mason and Diana remained in Johnson County for the duration of their lives.

Diana completed her B.S. in Education at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and then earned an M.S. in Counseling Psychology at KU. Most of her life work revolved around raising their two daughters, but she was also involved in numerous civic, school and church organizations. She was a member of Village Presbyterian Church and sang in the choir for 42 years, played violin in the Kansas City Civic Orchestra for many years, and was an active alumna of Delta Gamma, serving as House Corp Board President for several years at the Beta Kappa chapter at KU.

Diana and Mason moved to the Lakeview Village Retirement Community in 2016, enjoying their retirement years with gardening, volunteering, and meeting new friends.

Diana was preceded in death by her husband, Mason. She leaves behind her daughter Kim Ormsby Daffin (and her daughters, Emma Grace & Katherine Lane), daughter Heather Ormsby Mellor (Matthew) and their sons, Sean Mason & Andrew Stephen, brother Gary Gordon Gray, and several cousins.