Diane Elisabeth Zuercher Curtis

Diane Elisabeth Zuercher Curtis was born March 24, 1944, in Bucyrus, Ohio, to Bette Jane Swiger Zuercher and E. D. Zuercher. As a young child, she moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where she and her elder brother, Denny, were reared by their mother and grandmother, Virge Burlingame Swiger Dunbar.

In St. Petersburg, Diane attended North Ward Elementary, Mirror Lake Junior High, and St. Petersburg High School, from which she graduated in 1962. After two years at St. Petersburg Junior College, Diane matriculated at the University of Florida. Just days after arriving in Gainesville, in an incident that would become family legend, she spilled a bottle of Coke on John Raymond Curtis in the new College Inn Cafeteria, the C.I. He quickly became the true love of her life. Diane graduated with her BA in history in 1966, and after teaching history and civics at Disston Junior High in St. Pete for two years, she married John in 1967.

Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force, Diane and John lived first in Phoenix and then northern California. Afterward they settled in Lakeland, where they would raise their three children: Amanda Jane, William Daniel, and Joanna Elisabeth. When the children were thirteen, ten, and four, Diane enrolled at the University of South Florida for her MA in Reading Education, which she completed in 1987. She then worked as a teacher and administrator at Traviss Technical Center in Lakeland until her retirement in 2006.

Diane was an intrepid traveler with John, their family, and friends; a spirited conversation partner; John’s lifetime bridge partner; and a committed Christian and member of First United Methodist Church, where she was deeply involved in the life of the community for many decades. Above all, she sought to be the best wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, and child of God she knew how to be. In a draft of this obituary, Diane wrote of her prayer for her loved ones to continue to grow in their faith and learn more about God’s kingdom on earth.

Diane passed away at home on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, after a long, exhausting, and characteristically thorough battle with lung disease. She is pre-deceased by her brother, Denny. She is survived by her beloved John; her three children, Amanda (Brent), Will, and Joanna; and four grandchildren, Michael, Nicholas, Jack, and Emmy.

Memorial service will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at 11 am at First United Methodist Church, 72 Lake Morton Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801.