euskalkultura.eus

02/09/2025 - Castleford, Idaho, USA

Our loving and inspiring mother, Jessie Diane Ensunsa, of Castleford, passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, February 9, 2025 - twelve days ahead of her 84th birthday. 

Diane was born at home on the family farm near View, Idaho - southeast of Burley - on February 21, 1941. She was the second oldest of five children – and the only daughter - born to Floyd Draney and Floy Manning. Though her formal first name was Jessie, named after her paternal grandmother, she preferred her middle name, Diane, for most of her life. 

Diane loved living in rural Cassia County with their cattle and other farm animals near “the mountain,” her reference to Mount Harrison in the Albion Mountains. At the age of 11, Diane and her family moved to Moses Lake, Washington where Floyd and his brothers launched new businesses - a John Deere implement company, Draney Brothers Service Station and a Napa Auto Parts store - in the Columbia Basin cities of Moses Lake and Warden. 

The Draney house “was always a throng of activity” according to Diane and true to her own nature, “I didn’t sit around idly – there was too much work to do!” Diane stayed busy with school, cheerleading, band, church activities, helping Floy with cooking, cleaning and of course her music lessons and reading. Music was a staple of life from an early age and it was through Floy’s encouragement that her children play instruments. For Diane it was the cello and piano.

After graduation from Warden High School in 1959, Diane moved to Ogden, Utah to attend Weber State University. She lived with her Aunt Bessie Workman, (Floy’s sister) who provided a welcoming home and support as she enrolled in classes studying mostly business and returning to Washington in the summer months. After a few years, missing family and friends at home, Diane returned to Moses Lake and enrolled at Eastern Washington University in Cheney where she combined her studies with working at a local bank. 

It was Spring,1962 when Diane met the man she would fall in love with and eventually marry. John Ensunsa had moved to the Columbia Basin and was a field associate at the Asgrow Seed Company. One afternoon, Diane, an avid water skier and self-described “fish,” because she loved anything to do with the water, was invited to join friends at the lake. One of those friends was acquainted with John.

As John drove his boat that day and Diane skied, she said there was an immediate attraction to him. “He was handsome and witty,” she told her children years later recounting that first date. It was several months later and several water ski trips later - that she discovered John did not know how to swim. “He always drove the boat and then I discovered why! If I had known John Ensunsa couldn’t swim, I might have had second thoughts,” she recalled with a smile. 

Nevertheless, that afternoon blossomed into a year-and-a-half long courtship, a marriage on September 21, 1963, and a partnership that spanned nearly 59 years. John passed away on Labor Day, 2022. 

After marriage, John and Diane, along with their yellow canary, named Mr. Peterson, resided in Warden for three years. They welcomed their first child, Dave, in 1964 and then moved to Castleford in 1966 to join the family farm with John’s parents, Gregorio and Lena. Their first daughter, Gina, was born in 1967 and their second daughter, Julie, was born in 1970, but died shortly after birth. 

Life on the farm was never boring and Diane created a wonderful, loving home for John and her children. Diane’s kitchen was an extravaganza of food, flavors and fun and she continuously set the bar high for herself. She had a flair for trying new recipes, and she routinely orchestrated amazing meals. Elaborate recipes were a norm for her and she made it look easy. 

John, Dave and Gina were the grateful recipients of extraordinary and memorable meals over the years; she was passionate about cooking and baking and she made eating food an adventure and we ravenously welcomed every meal. She took classes on cooking and had stacks of cookbooks with handmade recipe cards with her own editorial comments in the margins. She never forgot the day that Grandpa Gregorio - after a Sunday feast - took the large loaf of her sheepherder’s bread from the table, lifted it into the air and exclaimed, “this is the best sheepherders’ bread I ever had!”

Diane displayed that same passion for food to the flower beds surrounding the home. She would put on her gardening hat, (there were several), grab her special shovel that John bought her and go into another world. Every summer, there were vibrant and varied flowers growing – some that existed before and some that were new. She had a flair for displaying colors and she enjoyed the digging, the soil prep, the pruning and the nurturing and watching nature grow.

Diane was a natural nurturer at heart and that extended to her children: she knew when to pour on the water and when to take out the pruners. 

Along with food and flowers, Diane enjoyed quilting and sewing on her Viking machine. She had a knack for it: finding the right fabric and making something beautiful. A trip to Twin Falls for groceries or errands always included a stop to the fabric store. An already accomplished seamstress, she took classes on learning new stitches and techniques. 

That curious, active mind of hers was at its finest when she was reading. Diane loved words and she had a wide swath of reading interests. Consequently, she had a large vocabulary. Growing up, when she used words around the house that were unrecognizable to her children, she delighted in pointing you to the dictionary: “If you look it up, you will remember the meaning better,” she would say. 

 Diane was a doer of many things and she seemed to be in motion constantly during the daytime hours. It was only after dinner and the kitchen was cleaned and spotless – that she would sit down. She seemed to relish those times when she could walk into a room – see her husband and children kicking back – and exclaim – What’s going on in here? We have work to do!” A common comment heard around the house was, “If mama ain’t sitting, ain’t nobody sitting!”

As much as Diane did in and around the family home - and that list is truly extensive - she also helped John with the farming operation, whether it was helping to round-up and vaccinate cattle, driving a truck full of grain or beans during the Fall harvest, or retrieving equipment parts in Buhl or Twin Falls - it was all part of a day’s work for her. When John went to work as an insurance agent at the Buhl office of Farm Bureau later in his career, Diane soon joined the company as the administrative assistant in the same office for more than 15 years. That role suited her because she was a stickler for details, never hesitated from nudging or admonishing the other agents in the office with a “to do list” for that day and true to her nature, it kept her mind busy. 

Through her entire life, Diane fostered a profound sense of loyalty and that loyalty extended to everyone in her life. She deeply loved her brothers, numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, husband, children, grandchildren and her many friends. She also had deep passions – music, literature, cooking, sewing and flowers.

Diane was deeply rooted and had particularly strong convictions. Her religious and spiritual faith were of utmost importance to her and she modeled that in her daily life. She studied scripture, attended church regularly and was part of bible study groups. She read widely on topics of Christianity and other world religions. 

Diane was keenly present and fully engaged every day with the lives of her children and husband and she had that innate, intuitive ability – like so many mothers across this world – of knowing what was happening in the lives of her children in real-time.

Diane was highly opinionated, direct and transparent with her feelings. By the same token, she always was there with sincere kindness, unending support and encouraging words, kisses and hugs. She had that uncanny ability to say exactly the right words at the right time. 

Music was in her bones and throughout her life, Diane played the piano for recitals, church services at the Castleford Baptist Church and accompanied John while he sang at weddings, funerals and special occasions. Between Diane and John, there was music flowing in the house all the time. 

Throughout the years, Diane was actively involved in her children’s activities, served as a school volunteer, was a Cub Scout leader, active in Flower Club and played couple’s bridge monthly with John in the same bridge group they helped form in the late 1960s. In the late 1990s, she was honored as the Idaho Farm Bureau Farm Wife of the Year. 

Diane is survived by two children, David (Monique) and Gina (Tiffany) and two grandchildren, Amaya Marie and Nicholas John. She is pre-deceased by her husband, John; parents, Floyd and Floy Draney; two brothers, Don and Brian Draney; and a daughter, Julie. 

The Ensunsa family would like to thank the many loving, supportive and dedicated caregivers at Fox Den – Bannock House, a residential memory care center in Boise’s North End where Diane spent the last year of her life dealing with the debilitating impacts of dementia. The family also would like to thank Edgewood Plantation Place – an assisted living center in NW Boise for their care of Mom where she resided for a year and a half. 

Memorial donations in Diane’s name can be made to the Castleford Men’s Club, PO Box 607, Castleford, Idaho 83321. They help with a multitude of community projects and they support student scholarships. Donations can also be made to the Castleford Baptist Church, where Diane attended for a number of years. 

Funeral services are under the direction of Farmer Funeral Chapel in Buhl. A public viewing will be held from 5pm to 7pm on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at Farmer Funeral Chapel, 130 9th Ave. North, Buhl, Idaho 83316. A celebration for Diane’s life is planned for Friday, February 21, 2025, 10am at Castleford First Baptist Church 290 Main Street, Castleford, Idaho 83321. Immediately following the celebration of life everyone is welcome to attend a luncheon at the Castleford Community Center. February 21 is Diane's birthday and many cookies, cakes and desserts will be offered, as her love of sweets was well known.

We dearly love you and miss you, Mom. You were a truly wonderful mother, teacher and friend. We are eternally thankful and grateful to have you as our Mother. 

(published in Farmer Funeral Chapel)

Goian Bego (GB) - May she Rest in Peace