Obituary of Diane Jean Johnson

JOHNSON: Diane Jean (Nee Welch) 

Passed away peacefully at Rubidge Retirement Residence on Saturday August 22^nd, 2026, beloved wife to the late Raymond Peter Johnson. She is loved and deeply missed by her children Kendra Pickett (Mike) of Lakefield and Jeff (Rhian Harrold) of Peterborough, and her grandchildren Molly, Owen and Nicklas.  

She is survived by her sister Lyndia Hancock and predeceased by her parents Charles Roy and Dorothy Welch.  

Diane will also be dearly missed by her “Bell Girls”, her “Horse’s Ass Bridge Club” and her many other dear friends, neighbours, colleagues and fellow bridge players.  Diane was always kind and generous, with a subtle wit and a smile that would light up the room.

She retired from Bell Canada in 1994 after a 29-year career working in the Business Office.  Her last few years at Bell were spent working as a manager in the Peterborough and Oshawa offices.  During her time with Bell, she met many dear friends which she kept for the rest of her life.

Throughout her life, Diane was a dedicated volunteer.  As a young woman she was the Charted President of the Venture Club.  She then joined the IODE where she was active member for much of her life.  Upon retirement, Diane devoted a great deal of her time to the Festival of Trees in support of organizations she cared deeply about, eventually taking on the position of Chair. She also spent over 1000 hours volunteering at Fairhaven Home. 

One of her deep loves was libraries, which started as a young person working at the Peterborough library.  In her retirement she took on the position of Volunteer Coordinator at the Bridgenorth Library.  She dearly loved this position and all the wonderful people she met and worked with there.  

Because of her dedication to her many volunteer positions, she was recognized in with an Ontario Service award in 2000 and in 2001 by Peterborough County when she won the Volunteerism award.

Bridge has been an important part of Diane and her sister Lyndia’s lives since they were young girls learning to play with their parents. Throughout their adult lives they enjoyed playing in various groups. Diane and her husband Ray also shared this love of the game which led them to take over “Mike’s Bridge Club”.  They ran this club for several years which she kept up after his passing.  

The family would also like to express their sincere gratitude to all the staff at Rubidge Retirement Residence.  Words cannot convey how much their kindness and care of Diane during her time there was appreciated, most especially in her final days. 

Diane will be dearly missed.

A private family inurnment will take place. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations may be made to Lewy-Body Dementia Research Fund at Western University at https://tinyurl.com/322fhbwj . There is so much not understood about this condition, and your support will help to improve diagnoses, education and treatment. You may also contact the funeral home to send condolences at www.hendrenfuneralhome.com or by calling 705-652-3355.