Diane Nicholls Willits

Left Iowa after graduating and met my husband, Mark, at college in Florida. Got married in 1970, then Mark got drafted into the army. Our daughter, Nicolle, was born in 1972 at Ft. Rucker, Alabama 6 weeks before Mark left for Vietnam. After the army, we went back to school at John Brown University (where I am presently on the board of trustees) in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, where we have lived since 1975. Mark & I both worked for DaySpring Cards where I was the manager of the design department. We "semi" retired in 2003 after Mark & I got our masters in Marriage & Family Therapy. We do premarital counselling, teach LifeSkills & MarriageSkills classes and because of our love of landscaping & outdoor lighting, we have our own family business, Illuminations Outdoor Lighting Specialists.

My favorite memories are...going to all the games, dances (even though I couldn't dance!), band concerts & contests, student council, planning events, school assemblies, homecoming, mixed chorus, driving around the square, working at Hy-Vee, etc.

Hi Classmates!

I thought I'd post a note to you since I won't be able to attend the reunion.

My life has been different than many of you...as I left Iowa for college after high school graduation and have been gone ever since. My parents are no longer living and my family is scattered from the east coast to the west coast with few relatives left in Iowa. I was blessed to grow up on a farm near Indianola & I was blessed to be part of the class of '68.

Actually, when I think about it, my life was different from many of you then too. I was a "nice Christian girl" who didn't dance, drink, smoke, go to movies, etc. Because of all the "rules," I was friends with many of you, but I probably didn't fully connect with most of you. I am sorry for that. I still have no idea how I beat Rick Heller to become Student Council President and I am convinced that if Sue Rasko had still been a member of our class, she would have been homecoming queen. I was blessed with so much then...& I am blessed with so much now.

What I want to share with you is that for many years now, my life has not been about "rules" but about relationships. I would hope that if we sat down and had a good chat, you would find that I am not the same person you "kinda knew" in school. I would hope that you would find that I have grown to become a loving, encouraging, peaceful, FREE woman who loves the Lord more than anything and has been blessed to be married to my best friend of 48 years, has an incredible daughter and two awesome grandsons, and lives in beautiful northwest Arkansas.

Life hasn't been easy, though, since high school days. Actually, my life wasn't easy "back in the day" in my home on the farm either. But through all of life's experiences, I pray that I am growing to be a better person.

So, if any of you are passing through northwest Arkansas and would like to get together for a cup of coffee, just send me a note at willitsfamily@cox.net & let's set a date!

Blessings,
Diane Nicholls Willits