Dianne Reay-Young

Obituary

Dianne was the kind of woman people didn’t forget. Tall, charismatic, and wildly energetic, she had a way of making you feel seen, not through grand gestures, but through her outshining interest in others. She would meet you and almost immediately begin firing off a series of questions with keen, genuine curiosity. And just when you thought the conversation was over, she would lean in with her signature line: “Just one more thing…”

She loved to flatter. She could find something wonderful in people and tell them so, often extravagantly, always sincerely. She was at times extreme in her thinking and beliefs for example that arses should be washed after each use as wiping was just not enough.

She was mum to Lucy, Luke and Matthew, in that order, and Nanna to Jordan, Boston and Zac, who loved her dearly for her eccentricity in this role.

Dianne loved music from a generation not her own, more teenage pop than anything she was “supposed” to be into, and she played it loudly, joyfully, and unapologetically. In later years, hearing issues made that love a particular complaint for her neighbours. It took us far too long to arrive at the simple genius of headphones, but when she tried them on this year she was in raptures, delighted and transported back into her happy place.

She was a wellbeing genius long before it was a thing on social media, she could have taught Huberman a thing or two. She also loved her weed, a small part of the rebellious streak that kept her interesting right to the end.

Dianne gave far too much of her life to the pursuit of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She loved God until the end, but thankfully she worked out those false prophets were only in it for their control. The time we had with her after she stepped away, though shorter than we would have preferred was precious. It was time with Dianne, free and fully herself again.

Something always seemed to be up with her heart. She was born with a hole in it, repaired as a teenager, but the story of her heart carried on in other ways too. She was not always comfortable demonstrating love easily, and she was known to respond with a simple “thank you” when her children said they loved her.

In the end, the love of her life turned out to be a scruffy-looking cavoodle named Frankie.

She was real and left an unforgettable mark on everyone she met.

Her entry into palliative care on 19 February 2026 was sudden and devastating. She went in for hip replacement surgery and suffered a catastrophic clot to the left side of her brain. From that fateful overnight moment, Dianne was never truly with us again, so as a comfort to her loved ones, we have put this page together. No one is like anyone. But Dianne was certainly the kind of woman people could not forget. Wild, bright, curious, flattering, unapologetic, and far too special for this to be happening so soon. RIP 23 February 2026