Diane Windisch

Diane (Small) Windisch, age 83, of Westminster, Colorado, passed away suddenly on March 8, 2024.

Diane was born on December 31, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois, to Genevieve (Fergus) Small and Thomas Benjamin Small. After Diane graduated from Longwood High School, she studied English Literature at Loyola University, graduating with a B.A. in 1962.

Diane married William George Windisch on June 30, 1962, in Chicago, IL, and went on to have three children: Karen Windisch Moore, Susan Windisch (Brown), and Elizabeth Windisch. Diane and Bill had strong roots in the Chicago area, living several years in Evergreen Park and then 52 years in Clarendon Hills. However, they also saw the world: they spent many winters in St. Thomas, USVI, and took trips throughout Europe, the U.S., and the Caribbean.

Her lifelong love of words and literature was evidenced not just by her lively and intelligent discussions of literature, but also by her decades as a library volunteer and several terms as a library trustee for the Clarendon Hills library. She was also an avid amateur cryptographer, deeply involved in the American Cryptogram Association, where she served as treasurer, vice president and then president.

A cancer survivor from an early age, Diane volunteered for many years with the American Cancer Society. Other volunteer commitments included working for the food pantry of Notre Dame Church, Clarendon Hills, where she was a devoted parishioner for 52 years. Even on “vacation”, Diane gave back to the communities she was a part of, such as reading to preschoolers once a week while in St. Thomas each year.

She is survived by her children Karen, Susan and Elizabeth (Ray Santos); her grandchildren Spencer Moore, Malcolm Moore (Sarah Ferrer), William Brown (Lindsey), and Genevieve Brown; great-grandchild Sophie Brown, and sister-not-in-law Mary Dease. She was predeceased by her husband William (April 2020) and her brother James Small.