Frances Diani

Frances Diani was born in Oakland, California, in 1935 to Cvita and Christ Cebalo. Her parents were Croatian immigrants who applied for and were granted citizenship, and who settled in the Bay Area because of a supportive family network and opportunities for work. After graduating from high school, Fran worked as office manager at an insurance office for a number of years and spoke fondly of that time in her life. She met her husband, Francis Diani, in 1956 at the Ali Baba dance hall in Oakland. Frank was in the air force at the time; Francis and Frances married in 1957. Fran continued to work as Frank earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at UC Berkeley via the GI Bill, and her income helped to put him through school. Frank and Fran moved to Santa Barbara in the early 60s and bought their house in Goleta in 1962 where they remained until 2018. Fran was a dedicated mom, a leader in both PTA and 4H for her children, Chris and Stephanie. She waged a decades-long battle with various forms of cancer and was described by Stephanie toward the end of her life as 94 pounds of stubborn. She died August 20, 2025. She is survived by her husband of sixty-eight years, Frank, her son Chris and his husband Steve, her daughter Stephanie and her husband Tim. A funeral mass will be held at 10:30am San Roque Catholic Church on Wednesday, September 10th, 2025, with a graveside service to follow at Calvary Cemetery.