Dianne Gray

Dianne Elaine Gray, aged 77, of Savage, passed away on August 5 from heart failure.

Dianne’s ashes will be interred at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, with a celebration of her life to be held at a later date. Memorials to be directed to the American Heart Association or the National Parks Foundation.

She was born and raised in York, Nebraska, where she also met and married her husband of 59 years, Leon (Lee) Gray. She lived most of her adult life in Minnesota, where she earned undergraduate degrees in computer programming, psychology, and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Hamline University. She worked as a computer programmer, systems analyst, and supervisor in the IT division at The St. Paul Companies. She taught System Analysis and Design at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and wrote three award-winning novels for young people, one of which won both a Minnesota and Nebraska Book Award in 2007.

In retirement, she divided her time between MN and Las Vegas, NV, and was never more content than hiking a path in a National Park. She used her computer skills to create an interactive family history, complete with photos and stories, and made “art” dolls of clay and cloth. 

Dianne is survived by her husband, Lee; two daughters, Leanne (Dan) Knott and Shelley (Tracy) Paulson; grandsons, Tyler, Austin (Yeongju), and Grant Knott; brother and sisters-in-law, Orville and Carlene Stuhr, Albert and Eileen Stuhr, Bettye Lou Wooten; and many nieces and nephews. 

Preceding her in death were her parents, Glenn and Evelyn (Hembery) Folts; brother, Norman Folts; sister, Glenda Jacobsen; sisters-in-law, Fran Smith and Janet (Folts) Tonniges; and brother-in-law, Jim Jacobsen.