#BringDianaJamesHome | Obituary | Diana Jo James

Read The Official Obituary and Post Messages to her and her Family at Legacy.com
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her honor to the Women’s Shelter of Clark County as they serve women leaving domestic abusive relationships.

Diana Jo James (Oxley) was born to Marian Opal Huddleston and Bill (Willis) Oxley on August 14th 1951 at Memorial hospital in Vancouver, Washington. She was their first born child to survive, which laid a foundation of strength for the life ahead of her. She would later have a total of two full siblings and five half-siblings, all of whom with the exception of one, she was tasked with raising while her parents worked full time, which was uncommon during that era. She graduated from Evergreen High School in 1970. She married and delivered three children of her own, Megan, Melissa (stillborn) and Matthew.

Diana held many careers over the course of her life. She started at Taco Bell as a teenager and insisted that today’s Taco Bell made the tacos wrong and would always politely ask them to put the cheese before the lettuce so it melted every time she ordered. She worked as a housekeeper at timeshares around the country in her early adult life which required her young family to move every six months to a year. When she gave birth to her last child Matthew, she decided to move back home to Vancouver to be close to family and eventually divorced the children’s biological father after years of domestic, physical and emotional abuse. She took a housekeeping job at PeaceHealth Hospital when it was SW WA Medical Center but after carpel tunnel surgery she was forced to find a job with less physical demands. Inspired by her youngest twin sisters Debby and Shelly, Diana became a job coach to differently abled persons and found true passion in her work. She felt that she was able to make a difference in her community by helping companies and communities facilitate acceptance and embracing of differently abled people. She always viewed her twin sisters as amazing people deserving of that same acceptance, love and support. It was quite common in that era to institutionalize people with special abilities, but their Mom Marian never gave that even a first thought. Diana’s raising of her siblings gave her a unique and specialized skill set to be an advocate of special and gifted people with passion and joy. Diana later went on to meet Jim (James) McCann through a mutual friend and became engaged shortly after Thanksgiving in 1994 before Jim was tragically murdered at the hands of a jealous sociopath just days before Christmas that same year. Shortly after that time, she found herself being laid off from her job coaching position and needed a more stable career to singlehandedly support her two children as the sole provider. She went back to school and completely reinvented herself, learning computer skills that secured her a temporary position with the City of Vancouver in Accounts Payable from which she was later made a permanent employee. She also picked up many other side hustles including office cleaning which she used to teach her children the value of a strong and dedicated work ethic as they cleaned together as a family to make ends meet. She retired from the City of Vancouver after 16 years of service in 2016 after suffering a health setback.

Diana’s life was fraught with hardships and challenges she didn’t deserve but she never let her hardships harden her love, laugh or her smile. Instead she used her experiences to brighten the world of those around her. She always did anything she could to help those in unfortunate positions. She poured love into everyone she surrounded herself with. Many of her children’s childhood friends and now also their significant others have claimed they have never felt so wildly welcomed, accepted, and loved by another family that wasn’t their own and that was all because of her….that when she loved you, she really loved you and loved the true you. Her greatest joy in life was her children, her grandchildren and also her grand dogs. She never passed up an opportunity to go over to her son’s house to spend the day with her granddaughters and made it a weekly tradition if not more. She spent countless hours at Ross, TJ Max and Marshall’s cruising the children’s aisles picking out their next favorite outfit or toy and could never wait to give it to them, even when she said it was for Christmas or their birthdays. She always enjoyed breakfast or lunch with her longtime high school best friend Vicki Seville and would often gloat over the joys of being a grandma. She was a talented interior designer as a hobby to close family and friends and eventually earned the nickname “Design by Diane”. She also had a talent for landscape design and painting using oils and watercolor. She loved trips to the beach and loved to listen to the waves crash at her favorite beach in Lincoln City while reading a good book.

Diana took what was going to be her last international trip to Portugal on Mother’s Day in 2023. Within 16 hours of arriving she suffered a subdural hematoma. Her children fought relentlessly by her side to bring her home from Portugal to receive appropriate medical treatment for her TBI. After more than seven months, they were finally successful. On December 11th they flew from Portugal to Seattle, Washington where she was admitted to UW Harborview Medical Center. After immediately showing signs of a remarkable recovery, Diana’s health took a turn in February and she was unable to recover. She passed away at UW Harborview Medical Center on April 11, 2024 surrounded by love from her children, grandchildren, their families and the wonderful nurses and staff on 4 East in her final days. To learn more about Diana’s story and how you can best protect yourself and your loved ones, please visit her website at bringdianajameshome.org

Diana is preceded in death by her daughter Melissa, Father Bill Oxley, Mother Marian Smolarek, the love of her life Jim (James) McCann, and Stepfather Dick Smolarek. She is survived by her daughter Megan (Kunze) and son-in-law Aaron Bocanegra, her son Matthew and daughter-in-law Miesha Jo Oxley, granddaughters Mya Jo and Morgan Mae Oxley, and her granddogs Mylo and Millie. Diana is also survived by her seven siblings and numerous nieces and nephews.

At the request of Diana, there will not be a service, as she was never one for attention or emotional goodbyes. When you remember Diana, please don’t remember her for the tragic accident that cost her life. We ask that you remember her smile, the way she lit up a room, her infectious laughter and the beautiful and special memories that you created with her. Her children ask that in addition to remembering her the way she would’ve wanted you to, that you also do your part to make the world a better place and you spread kindness in her honor….help a neighbor, buy a plant for a friend, buy a stranger a meal or groceries because she did that kind of stuff every chance she got….Find a way to be a helper in this often unkind world. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her honor to the Women’s Shelter of Clark County as they serve women leaving domestic abusive relationships.

Diana’s children would like to thank: Siobhan Curran and AJ Roland from Connect Healthcare Network for their tireless efforts alongside them to bring her home from Portugal; the incredible medical teams and administration at Braga Public Hospital, Hospital da Misericórdia de Vila Verde and UW Harborview Medical Center, especially the staff on 4E; the flight and care team from Global Jet Care; Dr. Michael Liu with PeaceHealth; Mr. Pozios and Mrs. Williamson for their legal assistance; Filipe at BeAR Home in Braga Portugal; the entire Bay Family and the numerous helpers and supporters of the family during their time in Portugal, the donors of the GoFundMe campaign, the friends and strangers who became family both at home and in Portugal and the friends who rallied around the family once they got her home. Thank you for being a champion of our Mom and loving her the way she deserved to be loved in life! Diana was an incredible woman, Mom, Grandma, friend, neighbor, sister and aunt and will be deeply missed by many.