Diana Heywood "Dee" Talmage

1939 - 2025

News story
By Isobel McClure
Blade staff writer

Diana "Dee" Heywood Talmage, an active member of the local community, serving in causes ranging from political campaigns to health-care and education initiatives, died on June 21 in her Ottawa Hills home. She was 85.

Mrs. Talmage's calendars - which her daughter described as "impeccable" - were filled with friends and relatives' birthdays and meeting dates, reflecting the various political organizations, causes, and relationships to which Mrs. Talmage dedicated herself throughout her life.

The daughter of Thomas and Madeleine Heywood, Mrs. Talmage was born in Toledo on Sept. 14, 1939, and attended DeVilbiss High School. Throughout her high school years, she was involved in student organizations including the student council and homecoming court and performed as a majorette.

While at DeVilbiss, she met Patsy Camp. According to Ms. Camp, the friends connected through the clubs with which the two students were involved and remained friends throughout their lives, reconnecting after Mrs. Talmage returned to Toledo following college and several years away.

"She was quite a lady, I'll tell you. Really, she could do anything and do it well," Ms. Camp said. She added that she admired Mrs. Talmage's leadership, noting, "A lot of people get on committees, and a lot of people do things, but they don't really participate that much. They certainly don't lead it, and she did."

Judith Daso Herb, who when she was 5 years old lived next door to Mrs. Talmage and later attended high school with her, echoed these remarks. She described Mrs. Talmage as an "outstanding person to get involved in just about anything," noting that her friend likely had the longest list of accomplishments in their high school yearbook.

Ms. Camp said Mrs. Talmage organized their class reunions, which occurred every five years rather than 10, she said.

Following her graduation from DeVilbiss in 1957, Mrs. Talmage attended Ohio State University on a partial scholarship, where she joined the student senate and became chairman of homecoming. During college, she and Lance Talmage went on a blind date, going dancing in Sylvania.

The couple were engaged a year and a half later, while Mrs. Talmage was working as a teacher at Burroughs Elementary School in Toledo and starting graduate school at the University of Toledo. They married in 1962 and later moved to Ann Arbor, where Dr. Talmage completed medical school.

Mrs. Talmage continued to complete night classes alongside Mrs. Herb at UT while in Michigan, where their first child, Tamara Talmage, was born. Mrs. Talmage earned her master's degree in education in 1965 after the couple moved back to Toledo, where their second child, Lance Talmage, Jr., would be born.

During this time, Dr. Talmage volunteered for the military and the family left for Germany in 1966. According to Tamara Talmage, her mother was "all in" and supported Dr. Talmage as he pursued a career in medicine and the military, noting that she wanted the family to move to Germany together.

Carol Emery Kirsheman, who attended high school with Mrs. Talmage and remained close companions with her throughout their lives, recalled that she and several other classmates, including Mrs. Herb, watched the SS United States leave from New York as the couple and their children departed for Germany.

"We talked on the phone. We would have conversations because we moved a lot. My husband was very busy with his business," Mrs. Herb said, recalling their friendship throughout the years. She would later work alongside Mrs. Talmage on the Judith Herb College of Education board, a partnership she described as "the dream team."

During their time in Germany, Mrs. Talmage was president of the Army Wives Club at the local base and engaged in volunteer work, according to Dr. Talmage. The couple's third child, Tenley Granito, was born in 1969, with the couple returning to Michigan later that year and eventually moving back to the Toledo area.

"She was involved in anything that could better the community," Dr. Talmage said. He remarked later in conversation with The Blade, "She got involved in things to further my career and to help the community. She was always looking for something that could help children, particularly."

Ms. Talmage noted that the family was always encouraged to participate in volunteering events. She added that she and her siblings were never pressured to do so but rather prompted by witnessing their mother's own involvement. She described her mother as always acting with "pure joy and love."

In Toledo, Mrs. Talmage was involved in organizations, including the Lucas County Medical Alliance and the Ohio State Medical Association Alliance, and served as president on the boards of Owens Community College, Ottawa Hills schools, and the University of Toledo Alumni Association, among others.

"It was her kindness and just her demeanor that instantly made me feel comfortable," said Adam Fineske, Ottawa Hills schools superintendent since 2019. "We've done a lot of great things in our school district, and it seems like whenever there was something great happening, Dee was involved somehow."

Alongside her involvement in health care and education, Mrs. Talmage served on the Republican State Central Committee for over 20 years and as chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party. She chaired Mark Wagoner's campaigns for the state House and Senate, alongside managing various other campaigns.

"Dee always did a fantastic job. She had really kind of a quiet strength to her where people really respected what she had to say," Mr. Wagoner said. "She was very good at dealing with people, working through adversity, working through disagreement, always trying to find consensus."

Paul Komisarek, chairman of political development for the Lucas County Republican Party, described her commitment to the community and her passion for public service, noting candidates and officeholders would often call Mrs. Talmage to discuss their political actions or plans.

Mrs. Talmage attended the funeral for his daughter, who recently died at the age of 35, even with "the fragile condition she was in," said Mr. Komisarek. He emphasized the importance of her presence and added "that is a type of person that is loyal, and one thing about Dee, she was loyal."

Mrs. Kirsheman similarly described Mrs. Talmage as a friend whom she could confide in. She said that although the pair were on "opposite ends of the spectrum" politically, the conversations between them were "wonderful discussions about all kinds of things that were happening."

Mrs. Kirsheman, Mrs. Talmage, and a group of approximately 20 other women - all classmates from DeVilbiss - stayed connected throughout the years, calling themselves Women of Wisdom or WOW, and discussed topics including books, education, and women in medicine.

According to her eldest daughter, Mrs. Talmage participated in conversations with the group throughout the months before her death. Her commitment to her family, Ms. Talmage noted, was unwavering, and Mrs. Talmage attended her grandson's wedding in May despite her declining health.

Ms. Talmage described the Serenity Prayer as a "guiding principle" within her mother's life, with the prayer encouraging strength to accept what cannot be altered and to change what can. Mrs. Talmage, a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, had been sober for nearly 28 years.

"She couldn't really dance, but my dad held her, and they were the last ones out on the dance floor at 62 years of the marriage, and she was so proud," Ms. Talmage said, describing her mother at the wedding. "First date dancing, last time out in public dancing: I think that they danced their way through their life."

Survivors include her husband, Dr. Lance Talmage; children Tamara Talmage, Dr. Lance Talmage, Jr., and Tenley Granito; and eight grandchildren.

Friends may call from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Walker Funeral Home, 5155 W. Sylvania Ave., Toledo. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Hope Lutheran Church in Ottawa Hills.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Owens Community College Foundation, the Historic Woodlawn Cemetery Foundation, or the Northwest Ohio Kidney Foundation.