Diane "Dee" Christmann

Diane "Dee" Marie Dietrich was born in Washington, D.C. on August 19th, 1949 to Jack and Darlene Dietrich. She had fond memories of going on weekend beach trips with her parents and visiting her boyfriend, Abe himself, in the Lincoln Memorial. 

The family moved to Albuquerque in 1955. It didn't take long to find her lifelong best friend, Grace Hutzel. Those were the days of the Disney Mickey Mouse Club and Dee and Grace produced garage shows for the neighborhood, charging a dime to get in. She graduated from Manzano High School and went on to earn her advanced degree in Speech Therapy and Audiology along with a special education certification at the University of New Mexico. Dee quickly decided that was not her career path and went to work at UNM Admissions Office, Manzano Animal Clinic, BDM Corporation and UNM Hospital. 

Dee met her husband, Charles "Charlie" E. Christmann, Jr., at BDM Corporation in February of 1984. In the fall of 1984, she invited him to the annual family tribal gathering in Vail, Colorado and returned to Albuquerque with a fiancé. They were married on April 13th, 1985 at St. John's United Methodist Church with a reception at Four Hills Country Club. 

Dee worked for several years after getting married, but eventually became a loving "Domestic Goddess". She supported her husband in his many volunteer activities, notably as the registration coordinator at the Ideas in Science and Electronics (ISE) trade show, the Sandoval County Republican Party where she was known as "the first lady of Sandoval Republicans" and the Placitas Arts and Craft Fall show running the raffle booth. 

Dee and Charles renewed their wedding vows on August 24th, 2018. 

Dee enjoyed assisting her husband, who was then a county judge, in performing weddings as a witness. She never met a stranger and enjoyed meeting and talking to everyone. 

Over the course of her marriage, she and her husband were able to travel to places such as Belgium, Greek Isles, Rome, Tuscany, Turkey, Switzerland, Germany, Dubrovnik, France, England, Scotland and Ireland. But her favorite was the almost yearly ocean cruises to the Caribbean to celebrate her wedding anniversary - she loved St. Thomas and the jewelry stores there. Her love and support for her husband was always foremost in her life. 

Dee passed peacefully on November 3rd, 2024 leaving a large hole in the many lives of her family and friends. She will be missed. She is survived by her husband, Charles Christmann, her sister, Denise Meyer, her brother-in-law, Michael Meyer, and her niece Adrienne Sobering and husband Jacob Sobering.

The family would like to thank the staff at MorningStar North Ridge and Legacy Hospice for their care and compassion.

A Celebration of Life for Dee will be held on Wednesday, November 13th at 1:00 pm at FRENCH - Wyoming.