Diane Rae Mounts, longtime Ponca City resident, passed away July 28, 2022, at home in Canyon Country California surrounded by her family. She had been battling Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) for many years. The memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, October 1, at First Christian Church in Ponca City. The Rev. Stephen Johnson and the Rev. Roberta Shaffer will officiate.

Diane was born on February 3, 1938, in Minneapolis, MN to Ray and Violet Martin. Growing in up Tulsa OK, she graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1956, where she was active the performing arts, including dance and acting, and was a member of the National Thespian Society.

After graduating high school, she spent time in San Francisco CA and Japan, before returning to Tulsa where she attended the University of Tulsa, became a cheerleader for TU, and met her future husband, Charlie “Sonny” Mounts from Pawhuska OK. They were married on Feb 17, 1962, in Tulsa and had two children, Shelli and then Chuck. The family moved to Ponca City in 1970 and started a new chapter in their life.

Upon arriving in Ponca City, Diane stayed at home taking care of the children and immediately connected to community, which included a strong connection with members of the Challengers class at the First Christian Church. Diane was always active in the community with the performing arts and with the Church, and as Shelli and Chuck grew older, she began working at Christy’s amongst dear friends from the Church. After many years at Christy’s, she moved into the travel business as a travel agent, which was a passion for her that she pursued for the rest of her working life.

Diane lived life to the fullest and loved her friends and family. Above all, she was the very definition of a people person, taking great joy in being connected with the people around her. Her children Shelli and Chuck brought her so much joy and pride, and she considered herself to blessed to have a such a loving son-in-law Steve and daughter-in-law Lisa. No words can describe her love and admiration for her six grandchildren, Travis, Jorden, Alex, Stephanie, Lauren, and Charlie. She was especially grateful to the loving care provided to from Shelli and her daughter Stephanie in the last days and months of life. She loved her sister Barbara dearly and was looking forward to being reunited with her mother and her father.

She was a compassionate and dear friend to many throughout her life, and the kind of friend that you could count on if you needed someone to talk to, a ride to the store, or support during a difficult time. She helped create the Friendship Feast at the First Christian Church, and this is just one example of her compassion-in-action that had such an important impact on the community and the people in the community.

Diane maintained deep and lasting relationships throughout her life, with some of her dearest friends from childhood in Tulsa remaining lifelong friends. Later in life, she was no stranger to social media and stayed connected to people through her posts of puppies, her favorite cellist, or her favorite dance routines on Tik Tok, all of which captured her spirit for life, sense of humor, and unending optimism.

Diane also never knew a stranger. She can and did speak to just about anyone-- be they a taxi driver, a waiter, a doctor, or a business executive--learning about them in the process, their children, their parents, and their life. Some of these “new friends” she kept in regular touch with for decades, including her dear friends that she made on a family trip to Italy in 1998.

Diane was not a wallflower. She was outspoken and an activist throughout her life. Never afraid to take a controversial stance and stand up for what she felt was right, she always carried her conviction, compassion and connection to people with her and served as a role model for tolerance and acceptance throughout her life.

She is survived by two children, Shelli Hughes and husband Steve, and her four children Travis of Little Rock AR, Jorden, Alex and Stephanie of Los Angeles CA; and Charles (Chuck) and Lisa Mounts, of Westport CT and their two children Lauren and Charlie; sister, Barbara Smith and husband Lonnie, and her niece Laura Vazquez and her family.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie Mounts, and parents Ray and Violet Martin.

Honorary casket bearers will be Barbara Jean Smith, Betty Kreger, Lynda Clark, Donna Ramsey, Susie Looney, Susan Hill, and Suzanne Martin.

Memorial contributions may be made to “The Friendship Feast” at First Christian Church, 210 N. Fifth Street, Ponca City OK 74601.