Obituary: Dianne Askew October 8, 1946 - November 28, 2016
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Tue, 11/29/2016 - 3:20pm
Dianne Harman Askew, 70, passed away peacefully on November 28 after a brave battle with interstitial lung disease, a rare autoimmune disorder.
Born in Detroit in 1946, Dianne was raised in El Paso, Texas. A Kappa Delta, she graduated from the University of Texas El Paso with a bachelor’s degree in business. Shortly afterward, a handsome and charming drill sergeant, Phillip “Mike” Askew, just returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam, swept her off her feet.
After an adventurous three month courtship that included writing a “Dear John” letter to her Danish fiance and attending bullfights in Jaurez, Mexico, they married in front of family and friends on August 8, 1969.
Just over a year later, in her husband’s hometown of Chowchilla, California, she gave birth to her eldest daughter, Kimberley, followed two and a half years later by her second daughter, Christell.
Mike’s army career took the close-knit family of four to Germany for three years, followed by eight years in Lubbock, Texas, and a return to Chowchilla in 1987 where Dianne taught typing and computer courses at Chowchilla High School from 1990 to 2000.
Dianne and Mike made their home in Carson City, Nevada from 2001 to 2016. There, Dianne, who loved to read, drink tea, sew, and knit, was a member of a local book club and a ‘knit and drink’ club that met weekly at the neighborhood Starbucks.
She greatly enjoyed her work as Engineering Quality Control Manager at Chromalloy, including traveling to Beijing, China on a memorable business trip. After retiring in 2012, she and Mike journeyed to Southeast Asia and Europe, as well as across the United States in their RV, wintering in Yuma, Arizona. She loved spending time with her family, and took great joy in her granddaughter, Chloe.
Dianne is survived by her devoted husband of 47 years, Phillip “Mike” Askew, her daughters, Kimberley Dianne Askew of Los Angeles and Christell Annette Askew of Carson City, and her beloved granddaughter, Chloe Bella Hanks, also of Carson City. The family is respecting Dianne’s wish not to have a funeral. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that friends and extended family consider making a donation to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, or the charity of their choice. Dianne’s favorite causes included PBS television, literacy, and helping children in need.
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