Diane Pattengill Ronan

Diane (Van Horton) Pattengill Ronan passed away peacefully on October 9, 2026, at home, surrounded by family.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 24 years, Kernan Ronan; her two daughters, Christy (Pattengill) Semmens and Jenny Pattengill; her son-in-law, Brice Semmens; her brother and sister-in-law, Claude and Sue Van Horton; her nephew, Jeffrey Schwartz; and her seven grandchildren, whom she adored and doted on endlessly: Dallas, Gracie, Tatum, Kira, Emery, Kaitlyn, and Sunshine.

Diane was born in New York in March 1943, to Eleanore and Edwin Van Horton. Soon after, the family moved to Northbrook, Illinois, where Diane and her brother, Claude, grew up. She attended the University of Colorado Boulder and then briefly taught high school English and drama in Denver.

Diane had called Phoenix home since 1974. She enjoyed a successful career in real estate in the Valley for more than 30 years. In 1994, she pursued her dream of earning a master’s degree from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

She was a fantastic cook who loved filling her home with family gathered around the table. An avid skier, golfer, and tennis player, Diane also owned and operated Ellie’s Tennis Shop in Phoenix with her mother and a dear friend in the early 1980s. She was blessed with a loyal squad of women who stood by her through decades of friendship: Scout, Diane W., PJ, Barb, Julie, Janeth, Lee, and Diane E.

After meeting Kernan in 2000, Diane became a devoted Anaheim Angels fan and referred to 2002 as one of the best years of her life – she and Kernan were married, the Angels won the World Series, and her first two grandchildren were born.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Diane’s memory to one of the following organizations: the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Parkinson’s Foundation, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, or Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF).