Diana Metarko Obituary

Diana L. Metarko

Sep 24, 1953 - Sep 1, 2024

Norwalk

Diana L. Metarko, 70 (or 29 if you asked her), of Norwalk, passed away Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, at home surrounded by her loving family after a very short battle with cancer.

She was born Sept. 24, 1953, in Sandusky, to Walter and Rita (Sprau) Schwiefert. She went to Monroeville Elementary and attended EHOVE.

Diana married the love of her life, John, on Aug. 28, 1970. She was an avid baker, loved her crafts, buying and selling jewelry, playing BINGO, playing bunco with great friends, any slot machines close by, and loved playing the pull tabs at Pean's Pizza. Diana was a dog mom and absolutely adored her fur babies. Most of all, she enjoyed spending time with her family.

She started in the work force at Burger Chef where she and John met. From there, she went to Gaymont Nursing Home and worked as a health aide and then Mason's Department Store as a cashier. Upon leaving there, she started at State Collection as a secretary and then worked her way up to manager and then became owner of the business. When the time was right, she sold the business to Fisher-Titus, where she then worked for them for the next 20 years.

After retiring, she worked for the Senior Center in Norwalk. She loved working there. She then started babysitting. Diana adored those little ones. Even in her final days before her diagnosis, she still kept "her kids." She just hated to let them go.

You couldn't find a harder worker or anyone with a better work ethic than Diana. Her fight with cancer was short, but courageous. She was diagnosed at the end of May and started treatment right away. She then found out mid-August that the cancer had spread to her brain. Even during chemo, she was always still worried about everyone else. She always took food to the oncology center when she was having her treatments. She always loved doing and giving to others. The nurses at Fisher-Titus were amazing and even under the circumstances, Diana loved seeing them.

Diana is survived by her loving husband of 54 years, John Metarko; son, Joe (Lina) Metarko; daughters, Sandy (Frank) Laney and Jen (Bill) Smith; grandkids, Paige (Rickie) Metarko, Dalton (NaKayla) Metarko, Cole (Cody) Metarko, Hannah, Adavee, and Chloe Laney, Ryan (Brooklin Higham) Smith, and Mylah Metarko; great-grandkids, Landon, McKenna, Rhylee, Vedah Jo, and Andrew; brother, Mark Schwiefert; sisters, Pam Fortner and Beckly Heckham; and all her nieces.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Rita Schwiefert; in-laws, John and Margaret Metarko; brother, Danny Schwiefert; brothers-in-law, Bob and William Metarko; and nephews, Donnie Alexander and Danny Baker.

Diana has donated her body to science to help others.

Diana's celebration of life will be 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, at Pean's Pizza in Monroeville.

In lieu of flowers, please send any contributions to the Cancer Center in Sandusky in Diana's name.