Diane Nicole (Schlegel) Peasley passed away at home on May 8, 2025, in Tacoma, Washington.   Born in Albany, Oregon, to John and Bea Schlegel, she was the elder of two children.  She graduated from Albany Union High School in 1968 and attended Seattle Pacific University, marrying Michael Peasley on July 9, 1971.   Diane earned her bachelor's degree in education in June 1972 and began teaching middle school history and English at King's Garden Schools in north Seattle.   She remained at King's Garden until 1979, when her daughter Keri was born, choosing to stay home for Keri's early years.

In 1980, Diane and Mike moved to Tacoma when Mike accepted a new job there.   Their son Matthew was born in December 1981.   Diane resumed teaching in 1986 at Central Lutheran in Tacoma for the 1986-87 school year, then joined Life Christian Academy, where she taught until retiring in 2014 to care for her parents.   Both Keri and Matthew attended Life Christian Academy and had their mother as a teacher.

Diane viewed teaching in a Christian school as God's calling, treating it as a ministry.   She loved it, and her love for her students and the subject matter, especially history, was evident in everything she did as a teacher, from dressing up in a period costume when teaching history to regularly changing her bulletin boards in the classroom to engage and stimulate her students in the topics being taught.

Diane was preceded in death by her parents, John and Bea Schlegel, and her son Matthew.   She is survived by her husband, Mike; daughter, Keri Peasley (Burien, WA); grandson, Jax Zinn; brother, John (Todd) Schlegel (Anchorage, AK); and several nephews and nieces.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider donating to Praise Covenant Church's preschool scholarship fund at Praisecovenant.net, a fund supporting children's education since 2021.

A celebration of Diane's life will be held at Praise Covenant Church, 3501 S. Orchard St., Tacoma, WA, on June 14, 2025, at 2:00 P.M. All are welcome.