Diane Mae Lehman (Nee Sheppard)

Diane Mae Lehman (Sheppard) passed away peacefully on December 5th at Suite Living Senior Care in Vadnais Heights. She is preceded in death by her twin sister, Dolores; her parents, Harold and Dorothy Sheppard; and her son, Bruce Himle. Diane is survived by her son, Forrest (Jennifer) Lehman; grandchildren: Jacob, Riley, and Quentin; and nephew, Tom (Nancy) Little. Services are to be held in the spring. Diane was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin on December 6th, 1929. She grew up in Rochester and then in Kasson with her twin sister, Dolores. She graduated from Kasson High School in 1948. She married Howard Himle soon after and had her first son, Bruce. They divorced in 1960. Diane then married Don Lehman in 1964 and had their son, Forrest in May of 1965. Diane became a secretary at Mount Sinai Hospital in Golden Valley, Minnesota and then a ward secretary at St. Mary's hospital in Minneapolis. In the early 80s she decided to go to school for nursing and earned an associate's degree at Anoka Ramsey CC in 1984. She worked as a nurse primarily on the psych unit at St. Mary's which later became Fairview Riverside. Diane and Don divorced in 1989 and she then moved to St. Paul. Diane retired from nursing in the early 90s and took up tennis. She played senior tennis for years and made numerous friends along with that. She also enjoyed playing bridge with her neighbors. She also began attending church and found her faith at the Open Door Church in Robbinsdale. She later moved to Woodland Hills in Maplewood where she was very involved with her small group there and would give back to the community. In 2002, Diane donated one of her kidneys to her sister, Dolores. Once Diane's grandchildren came, she became a very dedicated grandmother. She would help with daycare and other things in any way she could to make things easier for Forrest, Jenny and her family. Diane was always a giver and gave until she couldn't anymore. Alzheimer's came into her life at around age 80. However, she wasn't officially diagnosed until she was 85. It was very hard to see her loss of emotion and the struggles that came with the brutal disease. Diane entered Suite Living Senior Care in Vadnais Heights at the age of 87 where she spend the remainder of her years until she passed.