Diana Jane Pearce

Diana Pearce

October 10, 1949 - April 22, 2016

Mountain View, CA

Diana Jane Pearce, age 66, passed away peacefully at her home in Mountain View, CA on April 22, 2016, from cancer. She was born on October 10, 1949 in Zebulon, NC to the late Jane Baker Pearce and C. E. Pearce Jr., LCDR USN ret. After graduating from Wakelon High School in Zebulon, NC, Diana obtained her AA degree in nursing from Chowan College, Murfreesboro, NC in 1970. She started working as a Registered Nurse at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC and in 1975 received her BSN from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

At that point, Diana moved to California to work at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, CA. For much of her career at Stanford she worked as a Critical Care Nurse on the Trauma Unit where she served as a Charge Nurse. She was also Chair of the Trauma Committee and was greatly appreciated by younger nurses for her teaching and guidance. After nearly 40 years at Stanford she retired in 2012.

Diana will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humor, her intense curiosity and passion for learning. She loved to read, hike, bird watch and explore new cuisines with friends. She also enjoyed music and theater. Diana is preceded in death by her mother and father, Jane and CE Pearce of Zebulon, NC as well as her aunt, Jane Pearce.

She is survived by her aunts and uncles, Earl and Judy Baker of Durham, NC, Donald and Cleo Baker Collins of Dallas, TX, and Kenneth and Hilda Baker Ward of Richmond, VA and by her cousins Brian Baker of Statesville, NC, Donna Collins Herbert of Coeur d'Alene, ID, Carol Collins Payne of Dallas, TX, Michael Collins of San Francisco, CA, Jamie Price of Greer, SC and Nancy Ward Hawkes and Joan Ward Elliott, of Richmond, VA. Diana was also blessed with many loving friends who helped care for her during her illness, especially her co-worker nurses, too numerous to mention, but all dearly loved by her. She is also survived by long time friends, Terry Henderson, Mary Kay Bigelow, Heather Hawkins and John Duncan, Jack Duncan and her godson Cole Duncan. She left us much too soon and will be deeply missed by all.

A memorial service will be held for Diana on Friday, April 29 at 11:30 AM at Alta Mesa Funeral Home, 695 Arastradero Rd, Palo Alto, CA. Relatives and friends of Diana are welcome to gather for light refreshments afterwards. Memorials may be given in her memory to the Audubon Society or Friends of the Mountain View Library.