Diane Neustaedter

Diane Helen Chasney Neustaedter, age 67, passed away on July 1, 2009, at her home in Byron. She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1941, the daughter of Stanley and Angela Chasney. She received her BS in Home Economics from the University of Manitoba and later received a BS in Library of Science from the University of North Dakota. She met her husband Nicholas (Nick) when they were both teachers in Winnipeg. They married in 1965 before moving to Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota. After a cross-country trip to see the United States in 1975, they decided to settle in middle Georgia and eventually built a country home in Byron. While her husband taught at Fort Valley State University, she continued studies in accounting and became a bookkeeper. She retired from Meaders Wall & Co., PC in 2008. Over the years, she traveled the world extensively, including China and East Africa, with friends from Fargo. But in 2008, she traveled to Tanzania with a group of teachers on a trip which would change her life. The group, known as the Friends of Tanzanian Orphans, raises money for school supplies and scholarships for children orphaned from HIV/AIDS. A dormitory for the orphans is to be built in her honor and named "Diane Wagodi" which is Swahili for "Diane of God." She was predeceased by her husband Nicholas in 1999, her parents and her brothers Casmer and Stanley. She is survived by her nieces and nephews, Karen Chasney and Russell Chasney, Linda Klein, Veronica Chasney, Carl Neustaedter, and her Godson Kameron Dvoracek. Ms. Neustaedter was a member of High Street Unitarian Universalist Church where she served as Treasurer and a member of the Board of Trustees until her death. A memorial service for friends and beloved caregivers will be held at the High St. Unitarian Universalist Church, 1085 High St., Macon, Georgia on Friday, July 10, 7 pm, the Rev. Rhett Baird officiating. Her ashes will be interred later in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with a service conducted for her beloved Canadian family and friends from Fargo, N.D. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to her favored charities: The Dorobo Fund for Tanzania, with "Diane" in the memo line, c/o Friends of Tanzanian Orphans, 1173 Lakeside Drive, Felton, CA 95018; to High St. Church, PO Box 4566, Macon, GA 31208; or to the Macon Rescue Mission, PO Box 749, Macon, GA 31202. Register online at www.hartsmort.com. Hart's Mortuary and Crematory at the Cupola has charge of arrangements.