Dianne Cotter Blankenship
June 28, 1951 ~ October 16, 2016
Resided in:
Leicester, NC
Asheville Butterfly Trail
Dianne Cotter Blankenship, 65, died peacefully on Sunday morning, October 16, after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer. She is survived by her husband, Charles, of Leicester.
Dianne was born in 1951 in Brockport, NY, to Rita Marshall Cotter, now of Kilmarnock, VA, and the late Adrian Edwards Cotter. In addition to her husband and mother, she is survived by her brother, Douglas and his wife Anne of Kilmarnock; by her brother, Derek "Rick" and his wife Beverly, of Raleigh; by Charles' brothers, Garrett and his wife Norma Jean, of Marshall, and Carl, of Burnsville; his sisters, Kathleen Whitehead, Bernice McMahan and her husband Jim, and Maxine Scott and her husband Frank, all of Burnsville; and by many nieces and nephews and their children.
Dianne moved to Asheville with her family in 1958. She attended TC Roberson High School, NC State University and Purdue University. Dianne graduated from the Central Carolina Technical Institute in 1972 with an associate degree in Veterinary Technology. She was an integral part of Asheville Veterinary Associates from 1972 to 2015. Her associates commented on her strong work ethic, kind soul, passion for animals and veterinary medicine, and her great intelligence - tremendous attributes in her field. She took a break from AVA from 2004-2010 to be the Chairperson of the Veterinary Technician program at Asheville-Buncombe Technical College.
Dianne's passion was for horses. She raised, trained and showed them, and taught horseback riding. She loved traveling with them and trail riding. With Charles, she discovered the beauty of the Colorado mountains and loved taking the horses there.
A celebration of Dianne's life will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, at Groce Funeral Home, 1401 Patton Ave., Asheville, with a receiving of friends and family afterward.
In lieu of flowers, Charles requests that donations be made to Zion Hill Baptist Church, 1008 Newfound Rd., Leicester, NC 28748, for their West Virginia coal fields ministry, or to the charity of your choice.
I’m at a loss for words , My heart is breaking , Dianne was my Step-Sister . We had not seen each other in years for reasons I still don’t know. We were very close for many years & I will Always treasure the Thanksgivings & Christmas’s that we spent together! We Loved her like a Blood sister & Always will ! Our Heart goes Out To Her Husband , Doug & Rick ! Your are all in Our Prayers ! Heaven has gained an Angel & I’m sure Dad was waiting on her with open arms !
My thoughts and prayers are with the family. Dianne was a wonderful person and I feel blessed to have known her over the last 12 years. She will be greatly missed by all how knew her. She was a great mentor and teacher. We have lost a great animal advocate and friend but , Heaven has gained another treasure. This is not good bye just , we will see you soon!
My heart is broken and my heart goes out to all of her family. She taught me so much on how to be a good veterinary technicain. She was always encouraging and fair and I will always be grateful for her guidance. The world has lost a wonderful soul. My condolences to all who knew and loved her.
You and the family have our deepest sympathy during this time. Sorry for your loss.
What a great person she was. May God hold you all tight in His hands during this difficult time.
So sorry for your loss.
So very sorry to hear this. Diane and I went to elementary and high school together. May God hold you close at this time.
I am so sorry to hear of Dianne’s passing. She and Charles were my neighbors and I remember what a beautiful sight it was when she was in the field next door with her horses. I loved to stand and watch her. So beautiful.
My prayers go out to Charles and the rest of the family.
Dear Charles, Diane was a dear, sweet, kind person. I knew her for many years and had a tremendous amount of respect for her. I know she loved you very much and I am so glad she could share her love of horses and outdoors with you. She will be missed by many people. Love Karen Curtis
Charlie I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. There are never really any appropriate words for situations like these. Just know you are loved and I will be praying for you.
Charles we never met but I adored and loved Dianne. She was such a wonderful person and I have so many fond Memories. We shared a love of our horses, dogs and laughed a lot about my PJ the Donkey. She will be missed so much especially by me. May God be with you and give you comfort at this time. She was so happy she met you and thankfully you were there for her. Praying for you at the time.
Charlie and family, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Dianne left us with precious memories of her at church.
Gary and Vanetta Cooper
THIS WORLD HAS LOST A VERY SPECIAL PERSON AND A TRUE FRIEND OF ANIMALS AND PEOPLE. SHE WILL BE TRULY MISSED BY ALL. MAY GOD BE WITH YOU IN YOUR TIME OF GRIEF.
My thoughts and prayers are with Dianne’s family. She was a wonderful person, kind with a great sense of humor . I feel blessed to have known her at A- B Tech . Animals in heaven are bouncing with delight!
Lisa Bush
My condolences to the family. I didn’t know Dianne very well but all of our interactions while at A-B Tech were all positive and we both loved talking about horses! I still miss her smiling face.
Phyllis
Charles, I’m so sorry to hear of this. I was shocked. And I know you are heart-broken. Please know that you’re in our thoughts and prayers.
Uncle Charles,
I hate I never got to meet Diane, she sounded like a wonderful person. I don’t have words to express how sorry I am. I am praying for you and we will talk soon. Stay strong as you always have been, and you will always be family. Love you.
Dianne was my sister. She became a part of my family when her father married my mother. When I learned I had a sister I was so excited by the news, but I also had two other brothers. After just a few months I asked if my brother and I were going to be adopted and then the surprise and excitement shifted to our Dad, he was flattered and we were adopted. Dianne began to reconnect with her Dad and started to come over, visit and hang out. We had a lot in common – we loved animals, we both worked in the veterinary field, I would go to the horse arena and cheer her on when she was riding and showing, she would come and pick me up and we would go shopping and do errands, and I was very touched when she agreed to be the Maid of Honor at my wedding, we spent holidays and birthdays together as a family and she was also beginning to teach me to ride horses. I had a sister, NOT a step sister, I never referred to her as anything but my sister because that’s how I saw her. After our Dad died communication got less and less, I tried to stay in contact but she broke off communication, grief does that, not only had I lost the only man I called Dad but I had lost my sister too and why I did not understand, she was my sister; I wish I had known she was ill and needed help – I certainly would have dropped everything to have been there for her. The news of her passing has caused a hole in my heart that even time won’t heal. For 12+ years I had a sister in all sense of the word and for that I will be eternally grateful to Dianne for, she was a sweet person and I’m sorry I did not get to spend any more time with her and I am horribly saddened that she fought a battle with ovarian cancer. My prayers go out to her husband Charles, our brothers Doug, Rick and all the family, please know she was and is loved by her sister.
Doug…so sorry for your loss. My condolences to you and your family.
The memories of days we spent together are a treasure and will keep her forever in my heart. My sympathy to Charles and Rick and Doug. If we can be of help, please let us know.
Dear Charles and family, I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am about the loss of Dianne. However, as your pastor said during the service, we will see her again; I have great faith in this. But, thinking back on all the fun and good times we had together so many years ago, brings a smile to my face. I will never forget her, and I’m sure she is smiling down on us now. The Lord has just reclaimed an angel. Please know my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Long, infilled loneliness abides. Still, her smile, the glint of sun on her golden hair. Wind whispers bring her laugh. These bring warmth to the winter of my life. God Be with all of you.