Diane E. Grabowski

After enduring the Tigers' crushing 15-inning loss to end the 2025 postseason, Diane E. Grabowski slid into home for the final time on October 11, 2025. Born in Detroit on May 22, 1953, and raised on the baseball diamonds of Harper Woods, Michigan, she lived a life of grit, grace, and a fast pitch- both on and off the field.
Her own mother, Helen Filarski Steffes, had been a Rockford Peach in the All-American Girls Baseball League, and her father, Donald Steffes, had been a doting husband, stern father, and steady provider. One of six children (two girls, four boys), Diane learned early how to hold her own and exactly how to throw a punchline, and a fastball, with equal precision.
As a young girl, along with her sister, she learned to play baseball from her mother. Her passion for women's sports was channeled into her work for the City of Harper Woods, where she served as the city's first Athletic Director, organizing opportunities for children to participate in youth sports. Her career pivoted and she spent the next 42 years operating a thriving construction company. This afforded her two things she cherished deeply; an annual sponsorship for her beloved Monday night softball league and a business partner who became her greatest fan.
Married, later joyfully divorced, Diane raised two children, Sara and Brian, both of whom are currently in the kitchen attempting to replicate her potato salad recipe. In an abrupt end to the family lineage of female athletes, her son Brian got all her athletic genes, and her daughter Sara, tragically, got none. Diane never truly recovered from this injustice, but joyfully cheered from every sideline at all of her son's athletic events. Despite the genetic mix-up, she always said raising her kids was the best time of her life, though her children know that it's only marginally preferred over the time she spent raising hell on the softball fields, in the bowling alley, or on "ski weekends" with her tried and true friends.
Diane is survived by her mostly perfect children, Sara and Brian, and undeniably perfect grandchildren Chase and Jake, and a roster full of friends and family.
There's no crying in baseball, but there may be tears as family & friends are invited to reminisce and honor the life of Diane E; because while the game may be over, the stories live on.
A visitation for Diane will be held on Friday, October 17 from 4-8 p.m., with a sharing of memories at 7:00 p.m. at Chas. Verheyden, Inc., 16300 Mack Ave., Grosse Pointe Park. A service will be held on Saturday, October 18. The family will greet guests beginning at 10:00 a.m. until the start of service at 10:30 a.m. at First English Lutheran Church, 800 Vernier Road, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the International Women's Baseball Center to help preserve the history of women in baseball and secure its future for girls and women worldwide.