It is with great sadness that the Wetcher family announces that our guiding light, Dyani, has been taken from us unexpectedly. Dyani passed away peacefully at Island Hospital  surrounded by her family just after sunrise on December 18. Dyani was a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to everyone she knew.  

  Christened Linda Elizabeth, she was born in San Diego, California to Fred and Angela Grosso on October 5, 1942. She attended Grossmont High School and graduated from University of California Riverside with an English degree in 1964. Dyani's job as a social worker exposed her to the inequities of the times and inspired her lifelong belief that everyone is deserving of consideration and care. Captured by the spirit of freedom of the 1960's counterculture, she decided to travel abroad.  

  After traveling to Europe, her wild adventures included living in beach caves in Crete, becoming a seamstress in Rome, a goat cheese maker and farmer in Switzerland, a tractor driver on a hops farm in England, and a tea bag factory worker in Ireland. She lived in communes around the world, eventually ending up in Hawaii where her three daughters were born. As she always did, Dyani made friends in all of these places and accumulated memories that never failed to shock and surprise her grandchildren.  

  Dyani eventually settled in Anacortes where she met Brian, her companion in love and life for 41 years. She also embarked on a lengthy career of 39 years with Island Hospital where she flourished and was admired for her breadth of knowledge and the relationships she formed. Dyani truly loved her work in the Billing Department and her coworkers whom she regarded as family. Remarkably, at the time of her death she was 81 years old and still working full-time. Even in her hospital bed, in a semi-lucid state, she managed to elicit laughter from all of us as she spouted off numbers and tax information to her husband. Her mind was sharp until the very end.  

  Dyani cared deeply for the earth and had a great love for nature, family, and friends. Nicknamed "The Spider Lady" around the hospital, she was called to rescue her 8 legged friends from far and wide. She enjoyed hiking locally as well as in the Cascades and the Rockies. She would delight in identifying birds or plants she saw. An organic gardener for all of her adult life, she was proud to share her abundance of produce. Her grandchildren will remember fondly baking 'grandma bread', pumpkin pie, and tea cakes with her on cold, rainy days. She loved literature and could often be found reading with an ever present cup of tea beside her because as she had stated on more than one occasion, "What is the purpose of drinking water if it's already in my tea?"  

  Dyani's belief in the value of human interaction and her unwavering confidence in the basic goodness of all humans enabled her to offer in friendship her immense wisdom, compassion, and gentle loving spirit to everyone. She told all of us in her final days that she had no regrets, had been lucky in the joyful life she had lived, and that she was ready to go…onward to whatever is next. As usual, she handled even her imminent passing with grace and love for those around her. Her loss is profound for all of us who knew and loved her.  

  She is survived by her husband, Brian, daughters Niabi (Brian), Sage (Josh), Malia (Chuck), and her 'favorite son' Sean (Angel). She left behind four granddaughters (Blair, Vivienne, Alora, Rowen) and five grandsons (James, Justin, Noah, Tristan, Elliott). She is also survived by her brother Marc (Harriet) and sister Victoria.  

  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to the  Deception Pass Park Foundation  ,  Planned Parenthood  ,  Anacortes Community Forest Lands  ,  Evergreen Islands  , and  Heifer International  . Please visit  https://www.evanschapel.com/obituary/dyani-wetcher  to share thoughts and memories. A celebration of life will be held sometime this summer. Updates will be posted on the memorial website.