Obituaries
Diana R. Topalski
November 10, 1953 - October 1, 2021
-
VISITATION
October 7, 2021 | 4:00 to 8:00 P.M. -
Yurs Funeral Home
1771 W. State Street
Geneva, Illinois 60134 - Funeral
- October 8, 2021 | 11:00 A.M.
-
Yurs Funeral Home
1771 W. State Street
Geneva, Illinois 60134 -
Burial Location
Private
Diana Ruth Topalski (née Williams) peacefully transitioned to new life on October 1, 2021 at the age of 67 with her daughter, Selena, and sister, Christine, by her side. Diana was the eldest of 9 children. She was born in Hinsdale, Illinois on November 10, 1953 to Norma Wagner (née Hinkle), and Louis (“Bill”) (Phyllis) Williams. She leaves behind her mother, father, loving husband, Hairi Topalski, lovely daughter, Selena (Anthony) Stloukal of St. Charles, IL, grandchildren, Brooke and Nicholas Stloukal, brother Daniel (the late Fran) Williams, sister Donna (Mike) Goolsby, sister Dorothy (Jim Ray) Davis, sister Darla Dillashaw, brother James Wagner, sister Christine (Carlos) Aragon, sister Brenda (Dan) Janssen, and brother Jeff (Evelyn) Williams, as well as many cherished nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, beloved aunts and cousins, and dear friends, including her best friend, Brenda Welch.
Diana was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Leroy and Marie Hinkle and Martha Jane Hinkle (née Sanders), paternal grandparents, Louis and Evelyn Williams, three uncles and a great nephew.
Diana attended the first three years of high school at Indiana Academy in Cicero, Indiana and then moved to Chicago where she graduated from Schurz High School in 1972. She worked at Bradley Printing Company for several years and then began a new career at Fermilab National Accelerator in Batavia, IL over 20 years ago.
Diana was always on the go and had so many talents. We never knew how she found the energy and strength to keep going the way she did every day. She enjoyed baking, especially her famous carrot cakes, and decorating special occasion cakes for family and friends, sewing, and arts and crafts. Her love of oldies music brought a smile to her face and a spring to her step. She could never pass up a sale or an opportunity to go shopping — whether it was to the Dollar Tree, Walmart, Goodwill or a local garage sale — she kept the local economy stimulated. She would always find something to buy, usually for someone else. Her greatest joy was taking care of others. No matter how rich or poor you were, she wanted to be sure you had what you needed and were always taken care of. Diana loved children and delighted in her role as “Grandma” and “Auntie Diana.” She always said that children “warmed her heart,” and she showed it.
Diana’s philosophy was ” NEVER GIVE UP.” If it was broken, she fixed it! If you wanted something and couldn’t find it, she’d set out on a mission…. She loved to “save the day” and looked for opportunities to help everyone — strangers included. She was a problem solver; she was feisty; and she was compassionate.
Diana was a breast cancer survivor and a fighter. Her husband, daughter, and grandchildren were her greatest motivations for living. She cared for her ill husband for many years, up until the time of her recent hospitalization and diagnosis with cholangiocarcinoma.
Visitation will be held at Yurs Funeral Home, 1771 W. State Street, Geneva, IL 60134 on Thursday, October 7, 2021 from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.. A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 8th at 11:00 A.M., also at Yurs Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Big Hearts of Fox Valley, a nonprofit organization dedicated to brightening the lives of children whose families are experiencing financial hardship.
Click on the link below for the recorded funeral service
Share
Email
Condolences
Maredith Stoffel from BATAVIA, IL
"I had worked with Diana for the last 8 years. She was extremely good at her job and she taught me alot. I will miss her calling me and letting me know what I needed to do or how she likes things done. Everyone knew her and knew she had a kind heart. She loved her family, her job and her plants. Rest in Peace Diana"
Katie Carter Brown from Aurora, IL
"My sincerest condolences to the family and her work family at Fermilab. I met her once and Diana was truly one of a kind. May God bless you during this time and for always."
Pat Marsh from Yorkville, IL
"Diana you will be missed. You had such great tenacity. Always willing to go the extra mile. Rest in Peace lady!"
Teresa sage from Paris, IL
"Diane was the kindest and had the biggest heart of anyone I have ever known. You will be greatly missed! RIP cousin."
Prem Mattappally from Darien, IL
"Diana, You will be missed. You helped me a lot. Rest in peace. Remember you in prayers."
Lisa A Carrigan from Oswego, IL
"I have known Diana since she first started working at Fermilab. We have worked together in various departments and worked through organizational changes over the years. She was always helpful and willing to assist. She kept her own tools, and was willing to use them. We shared lunches, social events, and she was always thoughtful in documenting the retirement parties and Holiday parties with photographs. We worked Fermi Site clean-ups together and shared conversations about our daughters and her grandchildren. I was touched to hear she had a grand-daughter named Brooke. I remember enjoying her 60th birthday party, and her love of Elvis!"
Pamela E Johnson from Wheaton, IL
"My sincerest condolences to Diana's family. I met Diana in person for the first time in Spring of 2020. She was friendly and warm. Diana and I worked together on audit projects for Fermilab. Diana was always the first to send in her financial documents correctly. No questions asked, Diana was always on time! She will be greatly missed by many at Fermilab. Peace to the Topalski family during their time of suffering."
Kelly Dombrowski from Batavia, IL
"So sorry to hear about your loss. I knew Diana thru work and enjoyed talking with her. She was always kind and considerate. Diana will be missed."
Maria from Aurora, IL
"Diana you will be missed. Thank you for being you for always looking after me and always teaching valuable stuff. Diana was not only a coworker but was a very special friend to me. Having lunch together was always pleasant. Thank you for being part of my life. My sincerest condolences to her family."
Rosa Foote from Huntsville , AL
"I had the pleasure of working with Diana on occasion. She helped organize the Annual Admin luncheon that we had before the pandemic hit. She was exuberant and brought alot of ideas to the team. She had spunk and enthusiasm. It was a pleasure to know her. Rest in Peace Diana.✝️"
Jenny Thorson from Aurora, IL
"Sincere condolences to Diana's family. I've worked with Diana for many years but up until the past 3 years hadn't really interacted much with her. I'm very glad I had the chance to get to know her better because I discovered what a generous, caring and dedicated person she was and I respected her very much. You will be missed!"
Nataliya Kutseva from Hamburg , AK
"Sincerest condolences to Diana's family. Diane you were one of my favourite aunts. In spite of the distance between USA and Europe I could feel your warm person and I enjoyed each our call and correspondence. Diana was a wonderful aunt ant the best for my uncle Hari. She was a great person. I am happy to have known her. Rest in Peace!"
Douglas KINDRED SR from IL - Hume, IL
"BEEN FRIENDS WITH DIANA FOR MANY YEARS.REST PEACEFULLY MY FRIEND. TO HER HUSBAND MY FRIEND ALWAYS CHEERISH THE MEMORIES. HER MOTHER AND I ALSO BEEN FRIENDS OVER 40 YEARS,NOT ENOUGH WORDS OF SORROW,BUT I KNOW YOU,ARE A VERY STRONG PERSON AND LIKE YOUR DAUGHTERS VERY CARING. JUST SO SORRY I WON'T BE ATTENDING DIANA'S SERVICES.BUT HER NAME ALWAYS BRINGS A SMILE TO MY FACE."
Josh Juneau from Batavia, IL
"I have worked with Diana for many years, providing technical support for her computer and application issues. I always enjoyed our interactions, as she was very knowledgable, helpful in testing our applications and technical solutions, and always provided beneficial feedback. You will be missed Diana. My family and I send our sincere condolences to Diana's family."