Mom was born Dianne Kathleen Foreman in Vulcan, Alberta on May 30, 1953, the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. My mom may not have been born into a royal family but she was definitely a princess to her parents. She was the last of the three children born to Jim and Bernie Foreman, and mom always joked that she was the best one, so they stopped at her. Her brother and sister always teased her saying she was adopted.

At the time, they lived on their family farm just outside of Lomond, Alberta. They soon purchased the Lomond butcher shop and grocery, so mom, the only one out of school, would come to town with my grandmother. She used to say that mom was a wild child, always running around town and in the park playing while everyone else was in school. Mom attended elementary school in Lomond and made many friends there.

The family later sold the farm and butcher shop and moved to Picture Butte, later purchasing a house and settling into town on Rogers Avenue. Mom continued school there until she started to work at 16. Mom loved animals and there are many stories of my mother taking in stray cats to my grandmother’s frustration. My mom named every single cat that she had and still to the day that she passed, she remembered every one. Apparently, this is a hobby that she passed down to me.

Mom worked in the movie theater in town as her first job and then started serving in the restaurant and bar. Mom moved around, working and enjoying her youth. She worked in Pincher Creek, and then finally Calgary, where she moved in with her sister Val. My mom fell in love with big cities after growing up in small towns. In the mid 70s while she was working in Calgary, Mom met the man that she would marry in 1977, and that’s where I came from. In early 1978, my mom came to her senses and walked away from the marriage and the man who was cruel to her; she chose the path of single parenthood and moved back to Picture Butte. Once she had me in June 1978, Mom and I started working at the Labour Club and purchased a house in Lethbridge. Mom was a server and bartender for many years there and made many friends. Mom wanted to be able to stay home with me before I was in school, during the day, as she was working at the labour club at night. So, she also learned how to do acrylic nails and started a business in her home, which was the first of that kind that was allowed by the City of Lethbridge.

In the mid 80s, Mom decided to go back to school and attended Lethbridge Community College, completing her upgrading with honours. Mom had planned to become a nurse until my grandfather died in hospital, but she felt that she couldn’t do that anymore. Instead, she enrolled in Henderson Business College and graduated with honours with great distinction in the secretarial office course.

She started working at the Chinook Regional Hospital in a shared position, between the offices of employee health, infection control and volunteer services. She stayed there until the layoffs in the late 90’s, after which she worked at Costco demonstrating food.

In 2000, Mom and I started going to church and found the beautiful truth of Jesus. My mom grew such a deep faith in God, but one thing she also grew was the love of God in her heart. My mom never turned anyone away, nor did she judge them for anything in their life. She became a woman of prayer and would hold anyone up in prayer. She believed in miracles and healing, and she believed in heaven. She spent many years at Victory Church until she couldn’t get up from the chairs anymore because of her arthritis.

In the late 90’s, she also moved back to the hospital, working for Lethbridge Lifeline. It was through that position that she found her way into her calling. She started to work at We Care as well, and because my mom always had at least two jobs, she took the HCA course on the side. After a couple of years at this business, she chose to apply at Lethbridge Family Services, she worked in the field for a couple of years, but was diagnosed in 2000 with rheumatoid arthritis and soon realized that she would not be able to continue with a strenuous job. She applied for a supervisor position in the same company and worked there until her retirement in August of 2020.

By then, my mom’s body had become very crippled by rheumatoid arthritis and was using a walker full time. In the time that she worked at the office, she had three hip replacements and two knee replacements. My mom rarely took a sick day in all the years she worked, and always came back working strong after each surgery.

In 2020, though she retired, she also was introduced to Michael Adams, who became my husband but most importantly, became her son. At our wedding in 2021, my mom gave a speech, saying that if she had ever had another child, she wanted a boy and she would have named him Michael. She turned to my husband and said " I’m so glad you came. You just took your time." From the moment she met him, he was her son, and his children were her grandchildren.

Mom started suffering more with infections, and after we purchased a house in 2023, she became ill and spent nine months in the hospital. She came home only able to stand and pivot, but she was dedicated to walking again. However, Unfortunately in November 2024, Mom had another infection and she spent five more months in the hospital. Even though she came home weaker and unable to stand on her own, she still had a will to live. She was cared for by many of the staff at Lethbridge Family Services, including some of her very favorite employees that she had supervised. They all took very good care of her for the next few months, until July 4, when she was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Mom wanted to come back home and she was not sick enough to die, but she was laid down while she was sick, and unfortunately, because of that, she passed away quietly and alone.

Mom was predeceased by her niece Marie Louise Foreman, her father James Foreman, her mother Bernadine Foreman, and her sister Valerie Foreman. She also has many fur babies meeting her in heaven.

My mom will forever be the strongest person that I have ever met. She took each challenge in her life and stood up to it. She made friends everywhere she went. She was outgoing, friendly and loved to talk to people. She loved every job she had because of the people that she was able to meet. I have learned that my mom was special to my friends all through school. She was always determined and in 2000, she decided to ask God to help her stop smoking, and it happened and she never looked back.

Mom has left many people on earth missing her. Those left to grieve from her family are her daughter and son: Angel & Michael, her brother, Jim Foreman, grandkids: Lucian & Ayla Adams, her nieces and nephews: Robin Foreman & Gin Fedotov, Christine & Roman Nelson, and Josh & Amaira Foreman-Hansen, great nieces, Val and Ava, a great nephew, William and many furry and fin grandchildren.

A Celebration of Dianne’s life will be held at KING OF KINGS FELLOWSHIP, 539 – 18 Street South, Lethbridge, AB, on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 2:00 P.M. with Patty Butler officiating. Please wear a colour of clothing that makes you happy.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to or fostering, or adopting from The Warm Whiskers Project in Dianne’s name. Email warmwhiskersproject@gmail.com or on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/warmwhiskersproject