Diane (Potfora) Andersen 1940 - 2023
Long time Sonora resident, Diane (Potfora) Andersen, also lovingly known as “Mrs. Andersen,” “Mrs. A,” “Babcia” and “Granny,” passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her husband and children after a long battle with cancer.
She was 82 years old. She was born on April 3, 1940, in Detroit, Michigan. Diane was the owner and operator of Andersen's School of Dance from 1965-1995 and Babcia's Tea Room in downtown Sonora.
Diane Andersen was born as the fourth and youngest child of Sophie and William Potfora. She attended a Polish parochial school in Wyandotte, Michigan, and worked with her siblings in the family owned grocery store. Grocery stores were her favorite places to shop and explore to find new products to try. She was an amazing cook and loved to keep family traditions and recipes alive, especially around holiday celebrations. She was never happier than when she could feed someone and share her cooking and baking with people she loved. Tea Parties, Easter breads, Christmas cookies, Polish sausage and her famous “Hors D' oeuvres for dinner” were classics at the Andersen house.
As a young girl, Diane started taking ballet to build up strength in her legs after a mild case of childhood polio. A ballerina was born! Dancing played a big part in her life and, upon moving to Jamestown in 1964, she established Andersen's School of Dance in 1965. Numerous local children have fond memories taking dance classes and performing in recitals. The pinnacle of her dance career was the invitation to travel to Russia in 1980 to attend an International Ballet Festival at the Bolshoi Ballet. She set aside her fear of flying to make this special trip of a lifetime.
After the closing of the dance school, Diane and John opened Babcia's Tea Room on Washington Street in Sonora. A labor of love, they used family recipes and cooked with love for all their customers.
Diane belonged to the Venture Club, Soroptimist Club and Omega Nu, where she enjoyed the community service and the laughter of the many wonderful women that she served with.
Diane had a big, loving heart. She cared deeply for her friends and family. Everywhere she went she made friends! Her closest friends were so important to her, some of them sharing over 50 years of life's trials and blessings. In retirement she found time to read Jane Austen books and loved all period drama movies. She enjoyed the romantic simpler times of those stories and read hundreds of adapted Austen stories online, befriending several authors of the books she enjoyed. She loved her lunches with her “Ladies Group.” One of the things she really enjoyed for entertainment was going to the casino and playing the slots. Even in her final months of life, a trip to the casino was her idea of fun.
Diane's greatest joy was to focus her attention on her granddaughters and great grandchildren. They were showered with love, encouragement, and attention. Her favorite expressions were “I love you big bunches!” “Don't behave!” and when you told her you loved her she would say “You'd better!”
Married for 61 years, Diane and John created a home filled with love, laughter and compassion. Ann and Tom have countless friends who recall the Andersen house as a fun place and safe space to gather.
Diane endured cancer, fighting along the way with John caring for her. The Andersen family would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the wonderful people at the Diana White Cancer Center, Dr. Shields office and most especially the amazing team of hospice nurses who cared for our mother and our whole family.
Diane is survived by her husband of 61 years, John Andersen, of Sonora; her daughter, Annmarie (Ann Andersen) Cameron, and her husband, Michael Cameron, and granddaughters Morgan Cameron and Sophie Cameron, of Santa Barbara; her son, Thomas Andersen, and his wife, Shelley, of Sonora, and granddaughter Amanda Pors, her husband, Justin, and their children Grant and Emerson, all of Morgan Hill; granddaughter Stephanie Lohman, her husband, Zach, and their children, Trey, Aubree, Jackson and Jayden, of Sonora; her sisters, Irene Mros, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Ellie Pinner of Waterford, Michigan; and many beloved nieces, and nephews.
Diane was preceded in death by her mother, father and brother,
Sophie, William and Robert Potfora.
The family will host a Celebration of Life from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 8, at the Sonora Opera Hall. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating
in her memory to Hospice of Sonora.