Sylvia Corinne Diem, age 81 of Delano, passed away on July 12, 2024, after a lengthy illness. She was born on December 17, 1942, the oldest child of Carl and Valeria (Farniok) Topel in Delano, Minnesota. She graduated Valedictorian of her 1960 DHS class, and married her high school sweetheart, Bill Diem on October 3, 1964.  They were blessed with four children Brian, Kris, Tim, and Natalie and later nine grandchildren.

While Bill owned and operated Heinen Hardware in Delano, Sylvia worked as a legal secretary at Johnson, Larson & Peterson Law Firm in Buffalo, Minnesota.  She then went on to work as a legal secretary at Prudential in Plymouth, Minnesota.  After retirement, never one to sit still, Sylvia worked as a bank teller at Crow River Bank in Delano. She also worked for several years at the Delano Theater to stay busy.

Sylvia was active in her church of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Delano where she was a long time member.   Sylvia helped with religious education classes and she was a volunteer with the weekly Sunday night bingo at St. Peter’s.

Other hobbies Sylvia enjoyed were reading, with a special fondness for murder mysteries along with a variety of newspapers.  She loved doing crosswords, puzzles and watching her favorite tv shows “Murder She Wrote”, “Matlock” and “Columbo”.

The roles she cherished most was the title of mother and grandmother.  Sylvia always loved being with her family and spending time watching them do all the things they loved.  She loved going to concerts, recitals, sporting events, holiday gatherings, and she particularly loved going out to eat whether it was brunch with Bill, lunch with her sisters, special holiday dinners with her family or out to a local restaurant with her children and grandchildren, she would always say “it was such a treat”!

Sylvia was preceded in death by her parents Carl and Valeria Topel, husband Bill Diem, daughter-in-law, Antoinette “Toni” (Tim) Diem and brother-in-law Bill (Audrey) Nowak.

She is survived by her children Brian (Pam) Diem, Kris (Thom) Howden, Tim Diem, and Natalie (Steve) Diem Lewis; grandchildren Britta Diem, Jenna and Ian Howden, Billy, Paul and John Diem, Zaida, Hadley and Willa Diem Lewis; siblings Darryl (Mara May) Topel, Audrey Novak, and Julianne (Paul) Kittel; nieces and nephews Jackie Jasperson, Ann Otto, Jon and Jeff Nowak, and Darin Topel and many loving neighbors and friends.

Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, at the St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Parish, St. Peter campus in Delano, Minnesota. A gathering will be held prior from 10-11 AM. Inurnment in Calvary Cemetery.