Diane Kay (Williams) Markins

MESA – Diane Kay (Williams) Markins, at age 62, went home to be with Jesus on July 31st, 2019 at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa Arizona. Diane was born April 20th, 1957, in San Diego, CA to Johnny “John” and Shirley (Gaddis) Williams. She married her high school sweetheart, Bradley Markins, on May 26th, 1979, then graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in journalism later that same year. Diane went on to have two loving children, Jeffrey and Kimberly, and five grandchildren. She spent most of her children’s formative years as a stay at home mom, fully and actively involved in their daily lives while helping her husband navigate the family business.

Diane loved words. Speaking them, writing them, reading them, hearing them, teaching them. She believed that laughter was the best medicine, and this showed throughout her work and daily life. She put her degree to good use while she taught college journalism courses through MCC as well as practicing public relations for over 20 years.

During her time as a radio host for KPXQ she spoke about approaching life with grace and grit! Reminding listeners that they matter to God (episodes of talk show and blog posts still available at www.dianemarkins.com ).

Another passion of Diane’s was in public speaking. She would perform at women’s conferences all over the state sharing her experiences and God’s love. Diane collaborated on many different projects over the years and was published multiple times in newspapers and journals. Diane’s two biggest projects were her books, Bold Living and Contentment Connection. She inspired women to know themselves vividly and live boldly, as she did, for God and her family.

Diane spent many years on the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association of Arizona. She was a strong advocate for those with mental illness and their families.

Diane was passionate about seeing new things and meeting new people, she jumped at the chance to travel. She was blessed to be able to visit most of the U.S., some of Europe and even a few African countries. She went on mission trips to help Mexico’s neediest as they are our closest neighbor and it was the neighborly thing to do. Diane was a sports fan (Go Cardinals!) which fit in well with her belief that recreation and fellowship is good for the soul. She spent much of her spare time with family boating or blazing around the sand dunes or Mexico in their off-road vehicles.

Diane is survived by her husband, Brad; her sister, Beverly; her children, Jeffrey and Kimberly; her five grandchildren; and many other close family members.

The Celebration of Diane’s life will be held at Mountain Park Church, 16461 S. 48th St. Phoenix, AZ 85048, from 11:00 a.m. – 1 p.m. August 17th, 2019.

The family asks in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to an Arizona Behavioral Health organization of your choice. Here is an example;

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness, Arizona) http://www.namiarizona.org/