I lost my wife on Monday, July 29, 2024 at the age of seventy-six. Diane Mary Platz passed away while holding my hand after a valiant four year battle with pancreatic cancer. Diane was born to Ervin and Mary Ann Mytko on January 2, 1948 in Fond du Lac, WI. She was raised in an old farmhouse just outside of St. Anna, along with her two brothers, Joe (her twin) and Dennis, and her two sisters, Marilyn and Annette. Diane attended the St. Anna Catholic grade school and graduated from Elkhart Lake High School, class of 1966.

We met at the old Marsh Bar in 1967, fell in love and got engaged in October of 1968, and she became Mrs. Ralph Platz in the summer of '69. She followed me to Fort McCoy where I spent most of my tour of duty with the Army, after which we moved to New Holstein, and later our current home Whitetail Woods in rural Elkhart Lake. Diane gave us two daughters, Cindy and Sarah, and a son, Bob. As was more common in those days she became a full-time mom. "The best job I ever had", she would say, and for good reason. As the kids aged and left home she held numerous part-time jobs with the Salvatorians, Piggly Wiggly, the LA-TEC Credit Union, Fleet Farm, True Value Hardware, and finally the Elkhart Lake Library, before she retired.

She loved crafting and couponing and gardening and rummage sales. She loved driving her Jeep, a good game of Sheepshead, a hot cup of tea, and listening to the oldies. She loved hummingbirds and bratwurst and a hot bath. But most of all she loved children, especially the young ones. Any child, related or not, got her full attention. She was a faithful friend to many. She was a good listener and could keep a secret if asked. Her smile could light up a room and her laugh was infectious. She was generous and loving and kind and rarely ever raised her voice in anger. We were blessed to share fifty-four years of marriage. We weathered all of the hardships and challenges that came our way. I loved her many times more at the end than I had at the beginning. She survived carbon monoxide poisoning, a car crash, three blood clots, a broken back, and six surgeries, but the cancer was just too much. Yet through all the chemo, the radiation, the infections, the pain, the swelling, the allergies, the trips to the emergency room, the hospital stays, the rehab, the drugs, and the hair loss, she never once got angry with God. She accepted what came her way and fought with dignity and grace to stay in this world, confident of the next.

The get well cards and well wishes from friends and family were tacked all over our bedroom walls and it brought her great comfort to look at that outpouring of love and concern. She was preceded in death by our parents and my sister Sue Schoenborn. She is survived by myself and our children and grandchildren; Cindy, Dave, Morgan, and Taylor Kennebeck of Mount Prospect, IL; Bob, Moe, Megan, and Lola Platz of Montello, WI; and Sarah, Peter, Anna, and Ethan Pickette of Rye, NY.

In our late fifties our grandchildren became the focus of her life. She became a refuge of comfort for them; a gentle hand through their hair, a soothing voice in the night, a soft shoulder to lean on. She was free to relive her "mom" years all over again, but with mostly just the good parts.

Our family extends our thanks to the amazing, caring staff at the Sharon Richardson Community Hospice, to her oncologist, Dr. Mark Bettag and staff, and to Dr. Michael Johnson and staff, especially Theresa who went well above what anyone could expect. This medical team saved her life several times over and allowed us four years that we thought we would not have had.

Father Subi Thomas will officiate a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Thomas Aquinas (94 S. Lincoln St. Elkhart Lake) on Friday, August 2nd at 4:00 pm. A time of Visitation will take place at church from 1:30pm until 3:45pm when we will have brief family rites before Mass starts.

Burial will follow at the St. Paul Christian Church Cemetery in the town of Russell. A memorial fund will be established in her honor.

Through those many years of marriage we made more than enough memories to fill all of my remaining years. I will carry those memories with me until my time comes. And when it does, I won't fear my death, for I know that she will be there, waiting for me with open arms.