Dianne G. Batch

Dianne G. Batch, 1934-2019 Dianne G. Batch, 85, of Grosse Ile, MI, passed in her sleep at her home on October 15, 2019. Born in Highland Park, MI before moving several times with her parents Hugh C. Gibson and Dorothy C. Gibson (nee Hennig) to Lansing, Milwaukee, and finally to Toledo, OH. She graduated Cum Laude from DeVilbiss High School in 1952. Later, she earned a BS in Dietary Science from the University of Toledo and was a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority and the Peppers Honor Society. She married Melvin L. Batch in 1956 and moved to Lynchburg, VA, and later to Grosse Ile, MI where she lived the remainder of her life. She is survived by children Gibson L. Batch of Saint Paul, MN and Virginia C. Riling of Oakland Park, FL, four grandchildren, and two cats. She is preceded in death by her former husband and countless other cats. She worked at Marshall Lodge Memorial hospital in Lynchburg and later Riverside Osteopathic Hospital in Trenton, MI until her retirement. Her list of accomplishments and activities are lengthy and a tribute to the joy and energy she shared with others. For AAUW, she was president for two terms and held many other offices, received the AAUW Woman of the Year Award in 2001, two-times recipient of Named Grant Award for service, and active in both the Meet `N Eat and Couples Gourmet groups. For the Richard III Society, she also held many offices including Moderator and Membership Chair for many years. For The Islanders Community Theater, she was a member for 40 years, on the board of directors, director of eleven productions, actor in fourteen productions, and performed other leadership roles. For the Wyandotte Community Theater, she also was an actor in two productions. With the Grosse Ile Boar’s Head Festival, she was assistant director for four seasons with the ever-popular The Twelve Days of Christmas act. Most recently with the Downriver Genealogical Society, she was active for ten years as Recording Secretary and was a devoted participant in the HUGE newspaper Digitizing Project that’s still ongoing. Dianne loved to travel, both home and abroad, she had been in almost all 50 states. She knitted thousands of pairs of mittens for charity, gave generously to the Animal Humane Society, a voracious reader, played Bridge with friends, loved many types of needlework, collected recipes and loved to cook. She was a die-hard Detroit Tigers fan. She will be dearly missed by her family, grandchildren, and many friends.