Dianne Marks

Dianne Fleming Marks, of Oro Valley, AZ, passed away peacefully with family at her bedside

early on the morning of December 29, 2025 after a two-week hospital stay.

Born to Claude and Sarah Fleming in Monroe, GA in 1942, Dianne attended Monroe High

School where she was a member of the Monroe Girls Corps and marched as a drum

majorette in the 1959 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She received her B.A. from Emory

University in Atlanta, GA and after graduation joined the Southern Bell Telephone

Company's first management program for women. She met the love of her life, medical

student Bill Marks, on a blind date and they married a few days before Christmas in 1966.

They made their home in Bill's hometown, Augusta, GA while he completed medical school

at the Medical College of Georgia.

During the Vietnam war they lived in Okinawa, Japan where Bill was a physician stationed

on Kadena Air Force Base. Over the years they lived in Dallas, TX, Charleston, SC, and

Easley, SC. Dianne worked as a real estate agent in Charleston, SC. After both daughters

went to college, Dianne got her Master's degree from Clemson University and she and Bill

moved to Greensboro, NC where Dianne was a professor of sociology at a nearby

community college. She and Bill retired to Oro Valley, AZ near Tucson where they were

surrounded by the Sonoran desert, a beautiful mountain landscape, and a wonderful

community of dear friends.

Dianne loved deeply and had a fabulous zest for life. From driving her red Miata convertible

to soaking up the sun gazing out at the ocean (drink in hand) to laughing with her friends

and family and cheering on her beloved Georgia Bulldogs, she knew what carpe diem

meant. Her legacy lives on every time someone puts on an outfit with a little more bling

than usual. Every time someone flips the tassel on their graduation cap after fighting for

their right to be educated. Every time a mother whispers "you can do it!" into her child's

ear. Every time people start living their lives to the fullest.

Dianne is survived by her daughters, Honor Marks and Kate Marks Sojka (Jeff); two

grandchildren, Nat Sojka and Charlie Jordan; her sister-in-law, Ginger Espy Page (Bill); and

nieces and nephews. We are certain she has reunited with our dad, her beloved husband of

55 years, who preceded her in death.

In honor of Dianne's exuberance, family and friends gathered for a champagne toast to

celebrate her life on New Year's Eve day in Tucson, AZ. Dianne and Bill's ashes will return

to Augusta, GA this spring for a private interment in Westover Memorial Park. In lieu of

flowers donations in Dianne's memory may be made to Doctors Without Borders.