02/19/2026
Diana Lynn Gross
Diana Lynn Gross
December 21, 1946 - February 7, 2026
Diana Lynn Gross, 79, passed away February 7, 2026, in Salem, Oregon. She was born December 21, 1946, in Bremerton, Washington, daughter of Helen and Marvin Shillington, one of four siblings. Diana graduated from High School in Sacramento, California, and later graduated from beauty school (that's what she would call it) in Longview, Washington. She spent much of her childhood in Newport, Oregon, and the Oregon Coast remained her favorite place her whole life.
As a young adult, while Diana was attending beauty school, a fellow classmate suggested she start writing letters to her brother-in-law, Jimmie Free, who was serving in the Vietnam War. The pair wrote letters back and forth and when Jimmie returned home in 1966, they got married five months later. The couple went on to have three daughters and were married for 19 years before divorcing in 1986.
Diana loved being a mother and homemaker. She was well-known for her famous homemade mac and cheese, and she was a dedicated canner - preserving cherries, peaches, pears, tomatoes and green beans every fall. She taught her daughters as well and passed along her canning equipment to them when she no longer used it. Her domestic skills extended to sewing, and she handmade many of her daughters' outfits. In summertime, she'd prep the family camper every Friday for long weekends at campsites around the Pacific Northwest. Diana was a fixture on the sidelines as her daughters competed in softball and track and always in the audience as they performed in band concerts. When her girls were little, she provided childcare for neighborhood children while Jimmie worked long days as a welder. As soon as the girls were all school-age, Diana went back to work as a hairstylist.
After the divorce Diana wanted to secure medical and retirement benefits, so she got a job with the State of Oregon at Fairview Training Center, a group home for developmentally disabled adults. She truly loved the individuals she cared for, delighting in planning activities for them and helping them with daily living tasks. She worked at the
same group home for 20 years, retiring in 2009 with a big retirement party to celebrate her two decades of service.
In 1990, Diana married again to Walter Thomas "Tom" Gross. The couple bought a farm in Dallas, Oregon, complete with a big garden, cows, chickens and pigs. Together, they hunted, camped, and fished for halibut and salmon. They went crabbing (her favorite food) and shared in family birthday and holiday celebrations. Their time together ended too soon, as Tom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died just two months later, in 1995.
After Tom's passing, Diana sold the farm in Dallas and returned to live in Salem, closer to family and her employment.
In the last years of Diana's life, when at home to keep herself busy, Diana spent a lot of time embroidering hand towels she would give to just about everyone she knew, including her favorite waitress at a restaurant where she was a regular. Some towels were charming, with holly hobby girls and days of the week embroidered on them, and some were sassy, with sayings like, "Unless you fell off the treadmill, no one wants to hear about your workout," or, "Your opinion was not a part of the recipe."
Throughout her life, she was happiest when she was spending time with her family, including her brothers and their families and her children and their families.
Diana is survived by her three daughters: Ronda Cowlishaw, Amy Bouie (Terry Bouie), and Tyna Moreschi; six grandchildren: Brandon, Nicholas and Jonathan Brink, Joshua Gall (Jess), Trenton Dykstra, and Gabriella Moreschi; and three great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Walter Thomas Gross, sister Nancy Laulainen (Reher), brothers Tom and Don Shillington, and grandson Hunter Dykstra.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to Darian's Gift, dariansgift.org, a children's cancer foundation. A celebration of life will be held at an open house at her daughter, Amy Bouie's home in Salem, from 1 to 4 p.m. on February 28.
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