Diane Abeel

1928 - 2020

Diane Abeel
07/09/1928 - 11/28/2020
Diane Davis Abeel passed away peacefully on November 28, 2020 after a full and joyful life. Born July 9, 1928 in Pittsburgh and raised in Manhattan, one of her favorite childhood memories was watching the Barnum and Bailey elephants march through the streets of New York on their way to Madison Square Garden.
In 1949, she married Paul Howard Abeel at the Little Church Around the Corner in New York City. The couple moved to Hackensack, New Jersey where they raised their family. They spent summers in Tannersville, Pennsylvania where they ran the Abeel Farm Summer Camp. When they moved to Tannersville in 1968, Paul and Diane converted the property to Abeel's Hearthstone Cottages.
Diane taught art at the Essie Olive Abeel School and Faith Christian School. In her retirement, she volunteered much of her time in the library at Reeders United Methodist Church where she was long-time member.
She loved meandering through the aisles of craft stores, clipping interesting excerpts from newspapers, collecting snowmen, and watching her "British shows." She delighted in unexpected visitors and her door was always unlocked. She created elaborate handmade cards for all occasions. Her Christmas cards were so ornate, they often arrived just before the new year.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Cyril McGavin and Rosalynn Davis, her half-sisters, Gracie Richards, Marialynn (John) Georgi, and her husband Paul Howard Abeel, and niece Rachel Bissex.
She is survived by her daughters Christine Abeel Walters and Louise (Carl) Ralston, grandchildren David Welch (Laura), Adam (Leslie) Welch, great-grandchildren Jules Welch and Murphy Welch, nephews Thomas Georgi, Karl, Donald, and Walter Bissex, niece Lynn Owens, and wards Jean and Joan Haddenwald. She also leaves behind hundreds of snowmen that she collected through the years.
A celebration of Diane's life will be held at Reeders United Methodist Church in Reeders, Pennsylvania on Saturday, December 12 at 2 p.m. ET. In-person seating is limited, but all are welcome to join virtually. For details visit: https://dianeabeelmemorial.eventbrite.com.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Reeders United Methodist Church Library in Diane's honor. Mail checks to P.O. Box 187, Reeders, PA 18352.