Diane L. (Nimmo) Fox

Diane Fox was a beautiful, wonderful woman, who devoted her life and love to the people around her. She was a creative, compassionate woman, a lady of great strength and support, as well as a loving wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend. Diane was taken from us too soon, but her life was a gift to all who knew her.

Diane’s story began on a hot summer day in 1949, in the charming town of Vicksburg, Michigan. Those were fascinating times in this country, when our nation’s heroes returned home from World War II to begin the Baby Boomer generation, and claim their share of the American Dream. On June 25, 1949, Robert and Beverly (Miller) Nimmo celebrated a boom of their own, with the birth of a beautiful baby girl, a daughter they named Diane.

Diane was the first of the couple’s three children, and was later joined by her little sister Vickie and little brother Jim in the family’s Vicksburg home. Diane’s dad worked at the U.S. Post Office after his time in World War II, and her mother worked at Barnes Printing in Kalamazoo, in addition to raising the children.

Being the oldest, Diane did her fair share around the home, and she was always a very quiet, well-behaved young girl, a model daughter and a good sister. She enjoyed telling silly jokes around the dinner table, and was in a Brownie troop, too.

Diane learned to play the clarinet as a little girl, and eventually joined the school’s marching band at Vicksburg High School. She grew into a beautiful, creative young woman, and graduated from Vicksburg High in 1967.

When she was a young woman, Diane connected with a handsome young man named Doug Fox, a fellow Vicksburg High student who was a few years older than her. The sparks flew between them, and before they knew it, the couple was in love and happily married, at the Vicksburg United Methodist Church.

The newlyweds lived in Vicksburg for a time, before moving to a home in Muskegon. Eventually, they settled into a lovely home in Wyoming, Michigan, where Diane would live the rest of her life, and where they would raise their beautiful family.

Diane and Doug were blessed with two wonderful children, Jennifer and Christopher, who made their mother so thrilled. She was an amazing wife and mother, who helped the kids with their school work, and was always there in the stands, cheering them on at their sporting events, too.

Diane was a very artistic, creative person, and her talents were reflected in their beautiful home. She loved to sew and paint, and made many handmade decorations to adorn their home, which she loved to decorate beautifully. She was also a very good cook, and loved to bake all sorts of treats for her family.

Family was always foremost to Diane, and they remained close with her family in Vicksburg, making the trip back to see her mother on all the special occasions. Diane and her mother were very close, and talked every week on the phone.

When her children were old enough, Diane went back to work, finding a good position with the MC Sports company. She was an excellent employee, a self-starting creative thinker, and soon rose through the ranks to help the company open its new stores. Diane traveled around the Midwest helping new locations prepare for their grand openings.

Later in life, Diane and Doug generously and lovingly agreed to adopt two of their grandchildren, Keaton and Karley. It was an extremely difficult decision for them to make, but they loved them too much to have it any other way.

Shortly after the kids moved into their care, Diane sadly was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her sister Vickie learned she also had breast cancer, at the same time, and their shared battles with the disease drew the sisters even closer than before.

Through the wonderful care and advice of her doctors, and her determination to beat the disease, Diane battled the cancer into remission. Eventually, though, the cancer would return. Sadly, Diane learned her disease had returned on the very day her sister Vickie lost her battle with breast cancer, on August 13, 2005. Diane’s strength during that time was a sight to behold.

Over the next two years, Diane lived each day to its fullest, through many struggles and successes, good times and tough times. Her father sadly died on June 1, 2007, which was a difficult loss for the family, as well.

Sadly, Diane lost her own battle with the disease on Thursday, February 7, 2008, at her home. She was 58.

Diane was such a beautiful, wonderful woman, a woman so full of creativity and compassion, of strength and support. She was a loving wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend, and a woman taken from us too soon. More than anything, Diane was a gift to us, a gift we will cherish and remember forever. She will be so greatly missed.

Members of her family include her husband Doug, her children: Jennifer, Christopher, Keaton and Karley, her mother Beverly Nimmo of Vicksburg, brother Jim and his wife Donna Nimmo Vicksburg, mother-in-law Doris Buck, a grandson Conner and a brother-in-law Jim Beougher. She follows in death her sister Vickie Nimmo-Beougher in 2005 and her father Robert Nimmo in 2007.

Memorial services for Diane were held on Sunday February 10th in Grand Rapids and at 11 am on Saturday, April 12th at the Vicksburg United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the services. Diane will be buried in the Vicksburg Cemetery.

Please visit Diane’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com, where you can share a favorite memory or photo, sign her memory book online or make a memorial donation to the American Cancer Society.